Venezuela to sue promoters of US sanctions

Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly says it will have nationals who promoted recent US sanctions on the Latin American country legally pursued.

The president of the Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, said on Tuesday that the body would urge the chief prosecutor and the Supreme Court to initiate investigations.

Another member of the assembly, Diosdado Cabello, said charges of treason would be pressed.

“We accept the call of President Nicolas Maduro to initiate, together with the competent state authorities, a historical judgment of treason against those engaged in the promotion of these immoral actions against the interests of the Venezuelan people,” said Cabello.

The United States imposed fresh sanctions against Caracas last week. On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibits dealings with Venezuela, a measure taken to halt financing what the White House calls Maduro’s “dictatorship.”

Maduro described the move as illegal and designed to “asphyxiate” the Venezuelan economy and push the oil-rich nation into default.

He also says the US and its allies in the region are fomenting instability to bring down his government.

On Saturday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said members of the opposition in the country had lobbied with the US for the imposition of the sanctions on Caracas.

He said they were now blaming the government for the bans.

Political tensions in Venezuela heightened recently after Caracas announced the plan to establish the Constituent Assembly, a body tasked with rewriting the constitution of Venezuela.

The opposition saw the move as an attempt by Maduro to accumulate power, and protests erupted on the streets.

At least 120 people from the two sides died in the clashes.