Venezuela's Foreign Ministry condemns the sanctions and accuses the government in Washington of aggression. Among the officials affected are individuals from Venezuela's national electoral commission and its supreme court. According to the USA, they have prevented a transparent electoral process and refused to disclose the correct election result.
Venezuela has been plunged into a political crisis after the presidential election on July 28, which both the opposition and the incumbent president Nicolás Maduro claim to have won. The EU, the USA, the UN, and several of Venezuela's neighboring countries have questioned Maduro's claim to victory since the election data has not been fully disclosed.
