Today, the United States is sanctioning, José Bernabé Gutiérrez Parra, Miguel Antonio José Ponente Parra, Guillermo Antonio Luces Osorio, Chaim José Bucaran Paraguan, and Williams José Benavides Rondón for their complicity in enabling Maduro's efforts to rob the people of Venezuela of their right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections. This action is taken under Executive Order 13692, as amended. This latest Treasury Department action follows the sanctions announced on September 4 against other key illegitimate Maduro regime members.
Bernabé, Ponente, Luces, Bucaran, and Benavides are leading puppet opposition parties in the electoral charade planned for December 6.
Many of Venezuela's most popular politicians are not permitted to run in the election, opposition political parties have been co-opted, there are no tested and reliable voting machines, millions of Venezuelan voters remain unregistered, political prisoners languish in Venezuelan prisons, and a puppet Electoral Council, hand-picked by the illegitimate regime, is overseeing all of this. In addition, on September 16 an independent UN fact-finding mission established by the Human Rights Council documented horrific human rights abuses under the illegitimate regime.
With this latest Treasury Department action, the United States reaffirms its commitment to promoting accountability for all those who seek to undermine democracy and rob Venezuela of its democratic future. In doing so, they contribute to the gross efforts to seize and maintain de facto power by a desperate and illegitimate dictator. We stand with interim President Guaidó and Venezuela's champions for democracy in their progress to restore a democratic Venezuela.
