Venezuela slams US sanctions as a ‘crime against humanity’

Venezuela on Tuesday criticized the sanctions President Trump implemented after the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, won reelection this week, calling them a “crime against humanity,” according to Reuters.

“Venezuela once again condemns the systematic campaign of aggression and hostility by the U.S. regime to punish the Venezuelan people for exercising their right to vote,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement obtained by the news agency. “These arbitrary and unilateral measures constitute a crime against humanity.”

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that prevented Venezuela’s ability to liquidate assets and prevented Americans from carrying out certain financial transactions with the country’s government.

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The order came one day after Maduro won a presidential election that many consider to have been fraudulent.

Maduro’s administration said the U.S.-led “economic war” has worsened the economic crisis plaguing Venezuela and claimed the new sanctions violate international law, according to Reuters.

The U.S. was one of many countries that did not recognize the outcome of the election, which saw Maduro win with 68 percent of the vote.

Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the election a “sham.”

Maduro barred two of his most popular opposition rivals from the race and also offered government “prizes” to voters. Turnout for the election was under 50 percent, compared to 80 percent in 2013.

Opposition leaders had called for a boycott of the election to protest the Maduro government.

The foreign minister also blamed the U.S. “blockade” of Venezuela for the country’s lack of access to basic goods, according to Reuters.

Most analysts say that Venezuela’s economic troubles that have caused food and medicine shortages are the result of falling oil prices and the government’s economic mismanagement.