The Biden administration imposes sanctions on Venezuelan President Maduro's associates.

On Thursday, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his associates for their actions that undermined the electoral process and violated the civil and human rights of Venezuelan citizens.

During a briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared the imposition of sanctions.

President Biden's foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere emphasizes the importance of democracy for sustained economic prosperity and security. In light of this, Venezuela's electoral fraud following the July 28 presidential elections must be condemned, and those who hinder democracy should be held accountable.

"To hold Nicolás Maduro and his associates accountable for their electoral fraud, obstruction of a competitive and inclusive election, and violation of the civil and human rights of the people, we took two crucial actions today."

Jean-Pierre stated that Janet Yellen, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, imposed sanctions on 16 of Maduro's associates and visa restrictions on several of his allies who "undermined" the electoral process in Venezuela and "are responsible for acts of repression."

Over 140 current and former Venezuelan officials have been sanctioned by the U.S., while about 2,000 individuals have had visa restrictions imposed on them.

The real issue, according to critics, is the continuation of the Maduro regime's control over profitable oil contracts.

"The current approach seems to be overly fixated on a single tactic. If sanctions are being imposed, why are oil licenses still being renewed? This is feeding kleptocracy with $20B per year," said Isaias Medina III, a former U.N. Security Council diplomat and Harvard Mason fellow, in an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital on Thursday.

"To effectively combat illegal activities, it is crucial to take decisive actions, such as issuing a red notice from Interpol, intercepting every drug shipment, and blocking the coast to prevent the movement of oil. Instead of simply warning them, concrete steps must be taken to expose their involvement in drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and human rights violations. This entails pushing for their removal from the United Nations due to their illegitimacy and compelling the international community to take a unified stance against them."

In the July 28 election, Maduro won a third six-year term with over 1 million votes, while the main opposition coalition, Vente Venezuela, accused him of stealing the vote. According to Vente Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Since the vote, González and opposition leader María Corina Machado have gone into hiding.

Venezuela's Supreme Court reaffirmed Maduro's victory in the disputed elections, stating that any reports of his loss were fabricated.

The Venezuelan high court's certification has been rejected by the U.S., EU, and several Latin American countries. Maduro and his government have refused to release official tally sheets from last month's election.

Protests erupted in Venezuela after Maduro declared victory, leading to violent repression by the regime. Over 2,000 demonstrators have been arrested and taken to torture camps.

In the Dominican Republic, a plane owned by Maduro was seized by the U.S. earlier this month.

On Monday morning, HSI returned Maduro's personal plane to the United States, where it is now in U.S. custody, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Planet Chronicle after an initial report by CNN.

Officials described the seized plane as Maduro's personal version of "Air Force One." It is used for his state visits worldwide and was purchased through a straw company in violation of sanctions laws and export controls. U.S. authorities cited a specific violation of U.S. Executive Order 13884, signed by former President Trump in 2019.

The Dassault Falcon 900-EX, worth $13 million, was seized due to a joint investigation by HSI and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In August 2019, Trump issued Executive Order 13884, which prohibits U.S. individuals from engaging in transactions with those linked to the Venezuelan government, including members of the Maduro regime. The Department of Commerce has also imposed export controls on items intended for the Venezuelan military or military-intelligence end user to safeguard U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, as per the Department of Justice.

This report was contributed to by Kyra Colah, Danielle Wallace, and Bill Melugin of Planet Chronicle.