Obama sanctions 7 government officials in Venezuela

WASHINGTON — President Obama slapped economic sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials Monday, accusing them of human rights violations and declaring their government a threat to U.S. national security.

"Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "And we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems."

The administration is "deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents," Earnest said, and the nation's economic problems "cannot be solved by criminalizing dissent."

The sanctions target seven specific Venezuelan government officials who are involved in "violence against anti-government protesters," or the "arrest or prosecution of individuals for their legitimate exercise of free speech," said Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

The United States is not seeking to punish the people of Venezuela or its overall economy, said Lew and other officials.

In announcing the new penalties, Earnest called on Venezuela's government to release "all political prisoners," including dozens of students, political opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, and dissident mayors Daniel Ceballos and Antonio Ledezma.

The sanctioned government officials will have U.S. assets and property blocked and frozen, according to the new executive order, and will not be allowed to travel to the United States. U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing businesses with these individuals.

The group includes five current and former generals, a police official and a prosecutor, but not any particularly high-ranking government officials.

Obama's executive order declares a state of national emergency, a legal tool necessary to impose sanctions because Congress has allowed the Export Administration Act to lapse twice since 1994.

It's the ninth state of emergency declared by Obama, who has also renewed 22 emergencies declared by his predecessors, making it the 31st state of emergency currently in effect.

Under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, Congress is supposed to review each emergency declaration every six months but has never done so.

Monday's announcement is likely to escalate ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, stemming back to the days of anti-American president Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013.

Chavez's successor, Nicolas Maduro, has maintained anti-U.S. rhetoric. His administration is also under criticism at home for economic problems that include shortages and an inflation rate of more than 60%.

Just last week, Venezuela gave the United States two weeks to reduce its diplomatic mission to less than 20% of its current size.

The action against Venezuela comes as the United States tries to improve relations throughout Latin American, including with longtime communist foe Cuba.

"It is unfortunate," Earnest said, "that during a time when we have opened up engagement with every nation in the Americas, Venezuela has opted to go in the opposite direction."

Some analysts said the sanctions could be counter-productive.

David Smilde, a senior fellow with the Washington Office on Latin America, said the measures "will only help Nicolas Maduro portray his country's crisis as the result of a confrontation between Venezuela and the United States rather than a result of his failed policies."

Smilde said the U.S. should address Venezuela "through constructive multilateral efforts by allies in the region who are better positioned to engage the country."

Lawmakers generally applauded the sanctions, and some said the administration should go farther.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a potential presidential candidate in 2016, called for sanctions on "more Venezuelan human rights abusers." Rubio also drew a contrast to the administration's approach to Cuba.

"Even as I welcome this round of sanctions, I question why President Obama is simultaneously moving to lift sanctions on Cuba, which has played a direct role in sowing unrest in Venezuela and has a human rights record even worse than the Maduro regime," Rubio said.

Contributing: Alan Gomez