United States sanctions 21 members of the Maduro regime for the repression and fraud of July 28
Among those sanctioned are the heads of the intelligence service, Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and of the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), Javier José Marcano Tábata. Also included are Minister of Communication Freddy Ñáñez and Daniella Desiree Cabello, daughter of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
Nicolás Maduro speaking during a campaign rally in Caracas.
The United States announced sanctions against 21 members of Nicolás Maduro's regime. The measure was taken in response to the repression unleashed in Venezuela and for the fraud committed on July 28, after the dictatorship refused to recognize the triumph of Edmundo González Urrutia.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department sanctioned, among others, the heads of the intelligence service, Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), Javier José Marcano Tábata.
Also noteworthy are Minister of Communication Freddy Ñáñez and Daniella Desiree Cabello, daughter of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
"They have supported and carried out Maduro’s orders to repress civil society in his efforts to fraudulently declare himself the winner of Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, thus ignoring the will of the overwhelming majority of Venezuelan voters who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as their next president," the Treasury said in a statement.
The bureau detailed that following the election, Venezuelan security forces have arbitrarily detained supporters of the democratic opposition en masse, violently repressed protests, and denied people the right to peacefully assemble without reprisal. These tactics, the statement explained, also included "issuing an unjustified arrest warrant against president-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, prompting his departure from Venezuela."
In addition, the office highlighted that the State Department is taking steps to impose new visa restrictions under Presidential Proclamation 9931 on individuals sympathetic to Maduro who have undermined the electoral process in Venezuela and/or are responsible for acts of repression.
"With these actions nearly 2,000 individuals have been identified to date as subject to visa restrictions for their role in undermining democracy, engaging in significant corruption, or violating the human rights of the Venezuelan people," it said.
The following is the list of sanctioned officials:
GNB officials
- Dilio Guillermo Rodríguez Díaz is commander of the REDI Capital. He previously served as commander of the Capital 81 of the ZODI and as rector of the Bolivarian Military University.
- José Yunior Herrera Duarte has served as head of Zone Command no. 51 of the GNB since 2022.
- Carlos Eduardo Aigster Villamizar serves as commander and major general of the Miranda state of the ZODI since 2023. He also served as commander of the GNB Zone Command No. 62 in Bolivar state.
- Jesús Rafael Villamizar Gómez has served as commander of the Central REDI since 2024. He previously served as commander of the ZODI of La Guaira and as head of the Presidential Honor Guard. He is suspected of seeking personal benefits while working as a high-ranking Venezuelan official.
- Ángel Daniel Balestrini Jaramillo previously served as commander of ZODI Aragua.
- Pablo Ernesto Lizano Colmenter previously served as commander of ZODI Carabobo.
- Luis Gerardo Reyes Rivero previously served as commander and major general of ZODI Yaracuy.
- José Alfredo Rivera Bastardo has served as director of services of the GNB's Internal Order Maintenance Division since 2024. He previously served as commander of the ZODI Falcon.
- Alberto Alexander Matheus Meléndez has served as director of the GNB Logistics Division since 2024. He previously served as head of Venezuela's National Anti-Drug Command.
- Jesús Ramón Fernández Alayón is the director of Operational Readiness of the GNB. He also held previous positions as head of the Coastal Surveillance Command and commander of the GNB's Command Zone in Lara.
Officers of the BNP, SEBIN, DGCIM and the militia
- Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna has served as brigadier general of the BNP since 2023. He is also the officer in charge at the national level of the implementation of the citizen security electoral operation.
- Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello is the director of SEBIN. He is a cousin of Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello Rondón, who has been sanctioned by OFAC since 2018.
- Javier José Marcana Tabata is the head of the DGCIM and the Presidential Honor Guard.
- Orlando Ramón Romero Bolívar has commanded the Bolivarian Militia since 2024. He also previously served as central commander of the REDI.
Officials in various ministries
- Aníbal Eduardo Coronado Millán has served as minister of the Office of the President since April 2024 and as the government performance monitor. He is also the "head of government" in the Island Territory of Francisco de Miranda. Previously, he served in the Presidential Honor Guard. Maduro's Office of the President has carried out the dictator’s directive to commit electoral fraud, repress Venezuelans and continue anti-democratic acts.
- William Alfredo Castillo Bolle has served as Maduro's deputy minister of anti-blockade policies in Venezuela's Ministry of Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade since 2022.
- Ricardo José Menéndez Prieto has been Maduro's vice president of planning since 2014. He previously served as minister of higher education, minister of industry and minister of science, technology and intermediate industry.
- Freddy Alfred Nazaret Ñáñez Contreras is Maduro's minister of people's power for communication and sectoral vice president of communication, culture and tourism. He has served as sectoral vice president of communication and culture and minister of communication and information. He previously served as president of the National Television of Venezuela.
- Daniella Desiree Cabello Contreras has served as president of the Venezuelan Export Promotion Agency since September 2024. This agency is tasked with diversifying Venezuelan exports and co-drafting the Unified Protocol for Non-Oil Exports and Related Activities, which creates a single payment for Venezuela's exports. She previously served as president of the Venezuela Country Brand Foundation, who reported directly to Maduro's executive vice president, Delcy Eloina Rodríguez Gómez, who has been sanctioned by OFAC since 2018. She is also the daughter of Diosdado Cabello Rondón.
- Julio José García Zerpa has been Maduro's minister of penitentiary services since 2024. He previously served as deputy for the state of Táchira and holds the position of first vice-president of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly (A.N.), aligned with Maduro. Many opposition figures and other political prisoners are also unjustly imprisoned. Venezuelan prisons have been criticized for depriving inmates of their freedoms, critical overcrowding, procedural delay and neglect. In June, inmates in prisons across Venezuela led a hunger strike, demanding humanitarian measures and transfers to facilities closer to their families or where they were previously held.
- America Valentina Pérez Davila has served as second vice president of the A.N. The A.N. has supported the fraudulent proclamation of Maduro's victory in the July 28 presidential election.
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