The State Department on Friday announced it has revoked the visas of several top Venezuelan officials and their families who are aligned with socialist President Nicolas Maduro for various human rights violations.
Rafael Enrique Bastardo Mendoza, the commander of Venezuela’s police special forces [FAES], and Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala, the commander of the country’s military counter intelligence [DGCIM], have led their departments in “human rights violations and abuses and the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition,” the department said in a statement.
In February, the U.S. designated Mendoza for his leadership of the FAES following dozens of deaths that had been linked to his unit.
In the latest hit to Mr. Maduro’s inner circle, the department cited a United Nations Human Rights report from this year that found “essential institutions and the rule of law in Venezuela have been profoundly eroded,” including 7,523 extrajudicial killings documented by a non-governmental organization — likely linked to Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Dala’s units.
The U.N. commission in July noted “attacks against actual or perceived opponents and human rights defenders, ranging from threats and smear campaigns to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, and killings and enforced disappearance.”
At the time it was published, Venezuelan officials immediately blasted the report and said it was a “biased vision” of the country.
“We demand that its contents be corrected, and we urge you to act in a balanced and respectful way,” Deputy Foreign Minister William Castillo said last month.
Friday’s designations that prohibit the commanders and their families from entering the U.S. are intended to keep the pressure on the Maduro government, which is locked in a power struggle with opposition leader Juan Guaido.
More than 50 nations recognize Mr. Guaido as the rightful leader of Venezuela, claiming Mr. Maduro’s 2018 reelection campaign was riddled with fraud.
The U.S. government has already sanctioned more than 150 people and entities, revoked visas for some 718 of Mr. Maduro’s associates, and instituted measures that have drastically cut Venezuela’s oil exports, a critical source of revenue for the regime.
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