Unanimous vote in Venezuela's parliament for law introducing tough penalties against those who support US blockade and 'other international crimes'
The President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez. Credit: Matias Delacroix / AP / Profimedia
Venezuela's ruling party-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that provides for up to 20 years in prison for anyone who promotes or finances what Caracas describes as piracy or blockades, Reuters reports.
The law, which also targets “other international crimes”, comes in the context of recent US actions against Venezuelan oil shipments.
The U.S. Coast Guard this month seized a sanctions-hit oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude and over the weekend tried to intercept two other vessels associated with Venezuela, according to U.S. officials.
The intercepts are Washington's worst blow to Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA since the Treasury Department sanctioned PDVSA's former trading partners, two subsidiaries of Russia's Rosneft, in 2020, forcing it to cut production and exports. PDVSA was already subject to sanctions from 2019.
The project was sent to the executive for promulgation
The draft “Law to guarantee the freedom of navigation and commerce against piracy, blockades and other illegal international acts” was submitted on Monday by the deputy Giuseppe Alessandrello.
The President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said at the end of the meeting that the bill will be sent to the executive for approval and will enter into force once it is published in the official monitor.
Washington has increased pressure on the Maduro government in recent months, including through military action in the region. Since September, the US military has attacked boats that Washington says were involved in drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. More than 100 people were killed, including fishermen, according to their families and governments, AFP notes.
US authorities say the operations are part of a series of efforts to combat drug trafficking and sanctions evasion. Instead, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accuses the US of trying to undermine Venezuela's economy and remove him from power.
Violent criticism of the opposition
Rodriguez also criticized Venezuela's political opposition, saying its leader, Maria Corina Machado, is in hiding, but traveled to Oslo in December to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.
The speaker of the National Assembly accused the opposition of promoting sanctions and said its members “stole, looted, worshiped American imperialism” and “are satisfied with the aggressive actions currently taking place in the Caribbean Sea”.
Venezuelan opposition leader first public appearance in months. The details of his trip to Oslo were so secret that even the Nobel Institute did not know if he would get to collect his prize
