World News | US Government Pulls Some of Venezuela's Sanctions Relief After Court Blocks Opposition Candidate
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The US government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country's highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader.
Caracas, Jan 30 (AP) The US government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country's highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader.
The Department of the Treasury gave companies transacting with Venezuela's state-owned mining company until February 13 to wind down operations. The department had allowed transactions with the mining company in October after the government of President Nicolás Maduro reached an agreement with the US-backed opposition faction to work toward levelling the playing field ahead of the presidential election.
On Friday, however, the prospect of a free presidential election was dealt a heavy blow when the country's highest court upheld a ban on the candidacy of María Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and winner of the primary held by the opposition.
Machado, a former lawmaker, won the opposition's independently run presidential primary with more than 90 per cent of the votes. Her victory came despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office just days after she formally entered the race in June. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)