Aljazeera America - President Barack Obama issued an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat, sanctioning seven individuals and expressing concern about the Venezuelan government's treatment of political opponents.
"Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
"We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents. Venezuela's problems cannot be solved by criminalizing dissent," he added.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said the measures were designed to topple his socialist government.
"President Barack Obama, representing the U.S. imperialist elite, has personally deiced to take on the task of defeating my government and intervening in Venezuela to control it," he said in a national television address.
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