Marco Rubio Calls for More Sanctions on Maduro Regime in Venezuela

From his perch as chairman of the U.S. Senate Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., ripped into the Maduro regime in Venezuela, accusing it of standing in the way of last month’s elections and hindering the democratic process. 

“There’s mounting evidence that the Maduro regime in Venezuela has no intention of accepting the results of last month’s legislative elections," Rubio said on Wednesday. “By first manipulating the judicial system to block some parliamentarians from being sworn in and then intimidating others by blocking their entry into the National Assembly‎, Maduro’s puppets seem intent on sabotaging the will of the Venezuelan people.
 
“The Maduro regime must stop threatening and intimidating the duly elected representatives of the Venezuelan people,” Rubio added. “The Obama administration and other democratically elected governments of the Western Hemisphere have a duty to not only speak out against this flagrant subversion of democracy but also to take action to ensure that this democratic opportunity in Venezuela does not slip away right before our eyes. This should include applying sanctions on individuals planning, ordering or carrying out these efforts that violate human rights by further suffocating democracy in Venezuela.”