US sanctions six Venezuelan security officials over blocking aid

The United States imposed sanctions Friday on six Venezuelan security officials for obstructing aid that Washington had tried to force in as part of its effort to support the country's opposition leader against President Nicolas Maduro. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard, and Jesus Maria Mantilla Oliveros, commander of a unit tasked by Maduro with reinforcing security on the Brazilian border, the Treasury Department said.

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