In Venezuela, fears that U.S. sanctions could rally public support for unpopular government

[dipsydoodle]

CARACAS, Venezuela — Even as frustrated opposition leaders iced their talks with President Nicolas Maduroin the past week, they expressed little support for possible U.S. sanctions against top Venezuelan officials and business associates of his government.

With Maduro’s escalating crackdown on anti-government protesters bringing new allegations of abuse, several U.S. lawmakers have proposed targeted sanctions to freeze the assets of high-level Venezuelan security officials and other key figures in the Maduro government while also barring them from receiving U.S. visas.

“We are going to sanction and punish and name and shame individuals responsible for human rights violations,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), co-sponsor of a Senate bill to bring sanctions.

The top State Department official for the hemisphere, Roberta Jacobsen, testified in a Senate hearing this month that Venezuelan opposition leaders were advising against sanctions. But when those leaders denied making any such request, she retracted her statements, saying she was confused during the hearing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-venezuela-government-opponents-wary-of-us-threat-of-sanctions/2014/05/17/9405efdd-208d-4ca0-b646-345cd96da928_story.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Oh, jeez, what if the sanctions caused the fascists some kind of inconvenience?

That just wouldn't be right, would it?

Poor, persecuted things. What if they ran out of wire to tie across the street to behead more potential chavistas? That would be an indignity they shouldn't have to bear. They deserve their pleasure, of the most primitive, vulgar, vicious known to humanity. What can be more pleasurable for maggots than to murder the poor?

[Marksman_91]

2. The sanctions are intended for PSUV individuals, not Venezuela itself

This is what the MUD would not approve of, sanctions against the country itself which could affect its citizens, like Iran. They don't have any problems with sanctioning people such as Diosdado Cabello or Luisa Ortega Diaz with things such as closing their personal bank accounts in the US or suspending their Visas. And quite frankly, why wouldn't they? Considering they hate the US so much, they shouldn't be doing business in there in the first place, right?