CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) 鈥� The U.S. government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country鈥檚 highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader.
The Department of the Treasury gave companies transacting with Venezuela鈥檚 state-owned mining company until Feb. 13 to wind down operations. The department had allowed transactions with the mining company in October after the government of President Nicol谩s Maduro reached an agreement with the U.S.-backed opposition faction to work toward leveling the playing field ahead of the presidential election.
On Friday, however, the prospect of a free presidential election was dealt a heavy blow when the country鈥檚 highest court upheld a ban on the candidacy of Mar铆a Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and winner of the primary held by the opposition.
Machado, a former lawmaker, with more than 90% of the votes. Her victory came despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office just days after she formally entered the race in June.
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Venezuelan opposition leader Mar铆a Corina Machado on Monday called the blocking her presidential candidacy last week 鈥渏udicial criminality鈥� and vowed to stay in the race, declaring that the decision embodies the ruling party's fear of having to face her at the polls.
Machado, surrounded by supporters and other opposition leaders, told reporters she expects to increase against her and her team, because it is 鈥渢he only tool they have left鈥� to stop adversaries. But, she said, 鈥渢he best option鈥� for President Nicol谩s Maduro and his allies is 鈥渢o negotiate with us a peaceful transition.鈥�
鈥淚t cannot be called a sentence. It is not even an arbitrary decision. This is called judicial criminality,鈥� Machado said of Friday's ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. 鈥淚f they believe that they declared my disqualification, then let them know well, they declared the end of this tyranny ... because people are clear and are not going to allow themselves to be stripped of their Oct. 22 decision.鈥�
The former lawmaker in October by the faction of the opposition . She secured more than 90% of the vote despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office days after she formally entered the race.
The longtime government foe was able to participate, because the primary was organized by a commission independent of Venezuela鈥檚 electoral authorities. Machado insisted throughout the campaign that she never received official notification of the ban.
In December, Machado filed a claim with the tribunal, Venezuela's highest court, arguing the ban was null and void and seeking an injunction to protect her political rights. Instead, the court on Friday upheld the ban, which alleges fraud and tax violations and accuses her of seeking the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed on Venezuela in the last decade.
On Monday, she sought to reassure supporters, telling them that her campaign is 鈥渟tronger than ever鈥� and she will represent them during the presidential election. But she wouldn't explain the steps she plans to take to be allowed to participate in the contest for which a definitive date is yet to be set.
Friday鈥檚 ruling came more than three months after Maduro and the U.S.-backed opposition, known as the Unitary Platform, to work on basic conditions for a fair election. They agreed to hold the election in the second half of 2024, invite international electoral observers and create a process for aspiring presidential candidates to appeal their bans.
Maduro earned some from the U.S. as a result of the agreement, but it threatened to claw back the decision if Maduro breached the agreement signed in October on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
鈥淲e certainly have options with respect to sanctions and that kind of thing that that we could take. They鈥檝e got till April,鈥� White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday, referring to the expiration date set in October for some of the relief.
鈥淭hey need to make the right decisions here and allow opposition members to run for office and release the political prisoners that they鈥檙e holding right now.鈥�
The Organization of American States and about 30 political leaders from Spain and Latin America have also condemned the court's decision.
The court and the National Electoral Council, the country鈥檚 electoral body, are stacked with people affiliated with the ruling party. The head of the electoral council is now Elvis Amoroso, who signed Machado鈥檚 administrative ban last year.
Ruling-party loyalists also include Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who after the primary election opened criminal investigations against some of its organizers and later for three of Machado鈥檚 campaign staffers. In addition, a longtime collaborator of Machado, Roberto Abdul, with whom she co-founded a pro-democracy group more than two decades ago, was detained after the primary.
A high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuela led to Abdul's release and allowed the three staffers to leave the foreign embassy where they sought refuge. But three other staffers were detained last week, and on Monday, Machado said that their whereabouts remain unknown.
Since the ruling was made public, the chief negotiators for the Unitary Platform, Gerardo Blyde, and the government, Jorge Rodr铆guez, have expressed their commitment to continue the negotiation process. But while Blyde on Saturday said the government has broken the terms of the Barbados agreement and it must reverse the ruling, Rodr铆guez on Monday insisted that his side has followed the accord, and the court's decision 鈥渋s a thing of the past.鈥�
Rodr铆guez also warned the U.S. government to not 鈥渋nterfere鈥� with Venezuela's internal affairs.
鈥淲e will pay close attention to the actions they take in the coming days that may be considered aggressive toward the right of this country to live in peace, to progress and to have all unilateral cohesive measures, called sanctions, lifted," he said. "Should there be an aggressive action, our response will be calm, reciprocal and energetic.鈥�
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Zeke Miller contributed to this report from Washington.
Regina Garcia Cano, The Associated Press
