WASSERMAN SCHULTZ ON VENEZUELAN REGIME SANCTIONS

Washington D.C. – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement after the U.S. Treasury Department announced tonight that it will officially designate Venezuelan national Tareck El Aissami as among the individuals and companies involved in international narcotics trafficking. The announcement comes after Wasserman Schultz joined with Sen. Bob Menendez, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and other members in a bipartisan letter urging President Trump to take such actions.

“Placing Tareck El-Aissami and his key front man Samark Jose Lopez Bello on the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list is an important move that will allow the United States to play a much tougher role in reversing the dramatically worsening political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

The corrupt Maduro regime has shredded any due process protections, and unleashed a brutal campaign of political persecution and human rights abuses. I strongly support these sanctions, and the swift push to punish those responsible for using it as an excuse to further pillage and punish the Venezuelan people. These sanctions are overdue, and ensure that the United States cannot be used as a financial haven for these illicit, narco-stained assets.”

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