Caracas/Washington - A defiant Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro mocked the sanctions Washington slapped
on him Monday after Sunday's election of a new legislative
superbody that prompted the White House to call him a dictator
for "seizing absolute power."
Oil-rich but economically ailing Venezuela awaited a fresh
wave of protests against the unpopular Maduro, whose loyalist
Supreme Court had already stripped the opposition-controlled
congress of its powers, while the country waited to see what
actions the newly-minted constituent assembly will take.
At least 10 people were killed in unrest during Sunday's
vote, bringing the death toll from four months of
anti-government protests to more than 120. Governments from
Spain to Canada to Argentina and Peru joined Washington in
denouncing the election, which was boycotted by the opposition
and widely seen as an affront to democracy.
Maduro, hit earlier on Monday by sanctions aimed directly at
him, chided U.S. President Donald Trump for winning the
presidency by way of the electoral college after losing the
popular vote in the November election.
"I don't take orders from the empire," he shouted to a
televised gathering of supporters. "Keep up your sanctions,
Donald Trump!"
"In the United States it's possible to become president with
3 million votes less than your opponent. What a tremendous
democracy!" Maduro told a cheering and applauding audience.
Democrat Hillary Clinton outpaced Trump by almost 2.9
million votes, according to official U.S. election results.
Maduro said the sanctions reflected Trump's "desperation"
and "hatred" for Venezuela's socialist government.
Under the sanctions, all of Maduro's assets subject to US jurisdiction were frozen, and Americans are barred from doing
business with him, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Assets Control said in a statement.
"Maduro is not just a bad leader. He is now a dictator,"
White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told a news
briefing. "Recent actions culminating in yesterday's seizure of
absolute power through the sham election of the National
Constituent Assembly represent a very serious blow to democracy
in our hemisphere."
Maduro, like his predecessor and mentor, the late Hugo
Chavez, regularly laughs off criticism from Washington.
But the United States is Venezuela's No. 1 crude importer,
and any sanctions aimed at Venezuela's vital energy sector could
heap more damage onto an economy already suffering from a deep
recession and the world's highest inflation rate.
The US sanctions against Maduro could be followed by an
"escalatory process" to include oil-related transactions
depending on how far the Venezuelan government goes in
implementing the new congress, according to a person familiar
with the White House deliberations.
US oil markets had a muted reaction to the Maduro
sanctions, although experts said financial sanctions may be the
only way to influence Maduro. Venezuelan dollar bonds were
slightly lower on Monday.
The Maduro government's claim that 8 million people voted on
Sunday has meanwhile spurred accusations of fraud and raised the
specter of more violence. The opposition coalition estimates
only 2.5 million ballots were cast on Sunday.
Last week Washington sanctioned 13 senior Venezuelan
officials after doing the same to the country's vice president
in February.