It appears the man who sits in the presidential palace in Venezuela may have bitten off more than he can chew, with his administration’s latest corrupt action. As my colleague Ward Clark previously wrote, on Thursday, according to multiple sources, authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro reportedly ordered state police to arrest Maria Corina Machado, a rival candidate in the last presidential election who has been in hiding for months:
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…Venezuelans have been under the boot of Nicolás Maduro for a while now, and he’s making sure his political opposition doesn’t amount to much – even to the point of having them reportedly detained by the police.
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s aides said she was detained on Thursday, followed moments later by official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.
It remained unclear what exactly happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy down a main Caracas avenue.
At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado’s press team said in a social media post that security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later told The Associated Press that she had been detained, and international condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, demanding her release.
But about an hour later, a proof-of-life, 20-second video of Machado emerged online in which she says she was followed after leaving the “wonderful” rally and had dropped her purse.
So things are a little muddled. This could be a major misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to intimidate a political opponent.
Maduro’s camp responded in predictable form:
Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters denied Machado had been detained, claiming that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to generate an international crisis.
“Nobody should be surprised,” Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. “Especially since it’s coming from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick.”
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Someone thinking they will be arrested by Maduro’s thugs is not something unrealistic. As I noted in Sept. 2024, the man whom many around the world believe is Venezuela’s rightful president, Edmundo González, was forced to accept asylum from Spain, and flee his country, under threat of the strongman’s security forces imprisoning him.
Read More:
Maduro Has Opposition Leader Detained: This Is What Totalitarian Government Looks Like
Venezuela’s Rightful Leader González Flees to Asylum After Threat of Arrest by Strongman Maduro
The United States, in a refreshing change on the foreign policy front for the Biden administration, has not remained placid over Maduro’s tyranny. In September 2024, the Department of Homeland Security–thanks to sanctions policies put in place by former President Donald Trump, seized Pres. Maduro’s plane.
Just one day after, as Clark put it, the muddled incident with Machado, our government has ratcheted up the pressure on Venezuelans helping Maduro to desperately cling to power, in concert with the European Union, the U.K., and Canada, according to a statement released Friday by the Department of the Treasury.
BREAKING: U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Venezuelan officials supporting Nicolás Maduro’s repression and illegitimate claim to power. https://t.co/RSG9Tje1pU
— Victims of Communism (@VoCommunism) January 10, 2025
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning eight Venezuelan officials who lead key economic and security agencies enabling Nicolas Maduro’s repression and subversion of democracy in Venezuela. The individuals sanctioned, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, as amended, include the president of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, and Maduro’s Minister of Transportation and president of the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services (CONVIASA), the state-owned airline. In addition, OFAC is sanctioning high-level Venezuelan officials in the military and police who lead entities with roles in carrying out Maduro’s repression and human rights abuses against democratic actors.
Alongside similar actions taken today by partners, including Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, OFAC’s designations demonstrate a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people, and further elevate international efforts to maintain pressure on Maduro and his representatives.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above, and of any entities that are owned directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
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The statement added that Americans are “prohibit[ed]” from “all transactions….or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of” the named individuals.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said in the statement:
“Since last year’s election, Maduro and his associates have continued their repressive actions in Venezuela.
“The United States, together with our likeminded [sic] partners, stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people’s vote for new leadership and rejects Maduro’s fraudulent claim of victory.”
You can find the full list of the persons sanctioned at the link above.
As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.
Read related:
United States to Venezuela’s Maduro: You Actually Lost the Presidential Election
