Several people cry after learning of the arrest of opposition activist María Corina Machado during the rally in Madrid – Diego Radamés – Europa Press
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BRUSELAS, 10 (EUROPA PRESS)
This Friday, the European Union adopted sanctions against 15 Venezuelan officials, including the president of the Supreme Court, Caryslia Rodríguez, and officials of the National Electoral Council, for their involvement in the irregularities recorded in the elections in Venezuela and for proclaiming Nicolás Maduro the winner. of the presidential elections without presenting any evidence to support the result.
Thus, the Twenty-Seven respond to the political crisis in Venezuela by expanding the existing sanctions to add 15 more people to their ‘black list’, as agreed at the end of the year, to increase the list to 70 individuals. The measures come into force hours after Nicolás Maduro assumes his third presidential term without having published the complete vote count confirming his electoral victory on July 28.
Specifically, the Member States hold Caryslia Rodríguez responsible for declaring Maduro’s victory in the presidential elections “incontestable”, a step that the Supreme Court took without disclosing the detailed voting data on which its ruling was based and despite the irregularities in the management of the electoral process by the CNE. It also accuses him of interfering in the opposition’s primary elections, obstructing their participation in the presidential elections. “The actions of Caryslia Rodríguez have undermined democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela,” indicated the legal text that Europa Press was able to consult after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Among those sanctioned, the EU includes the vice president of the Supreme Court, Fanny Márquez, and other judges of the Supreme Court for certifying Maduro’s victory and for their maneuvers to disqualify the opposition leader María Corina Machado from the electoral race, suspending her electoral rights. .
Along the same lines, the bloc points to CNE leaders for the irregularities recorded in the framework of the July elections, specifically for the management of the process, the delays in the counting at the electoral centers and for hiding the messages that revealed those irregularities.
ADD THE NEW HEAD OF SEBIN TO THE BLACKLIST
Likewise, the EU adds to its blacklist Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, a relative of the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, and the new head of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), implicated in serious violations of human rights, such as extrajudicial executions, detentions arbitrary actions and the repression of the democratic opposition in Venezuela.
Punitive measures will also be applied against the deputy director of SEBIN, who is held responsible for acts of arbitrary detention, torture and cruel and inhuman treatment, including sexual violence, in the “El Helicoide” detention center, a well-known SEBIN prison.
Likewise, other commanders of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces and the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) for their role in the repression against Venezuelan civil society and the democratic opposition after the July 2024 elections, including arbitrary arrests and humiliating treatment.
In the judicial section, the EU points to two members of the Venezuelan judiciary for the “judicial persecution for political reasons” of Edmundo González, an opposition candidate in the elections who requested exile from Spain last September. There is an arrest warrant against the veteran diplomat that he has promised to defy in order to be present in Caracas for the inauguration ceremony.