Maduro successor banned from UK for targeting political opponents

The interim president of Venezuela is banned from the UK for targeting governmental opponents, Sky News has confirmed.

Delcy Rodriguez was sworn successful arsenic Venezuela's interim president aft Nicolas Maduro was captured by the US successful its play raid connected the South American nation.

Formerly vice president, Ms Rodriguez has been a arguable fig for her relation wrong the oppressive Maduro regime.

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Sky News has confirmed via Treasury documents that she had been sanctioned by the UK successful 2020, and inactive appears connected the list.

This included her being taxable to an plus freeze, disqualified arsenic a manager and taxable to a question ban.

The reasons fixed for her being added were: "There are tenable grounds to fishy that her actions connected the Presidential Commission and past arsenic president of the Constituent Assembly person undermined ideology and the regularisation of instrumentality successful Venezuela, including usurping the powers of the National Assembly and utilizing them to people the absorption and forestall them taking portion successful the governmental process."

Ms Rodriguez was added to the UK sanctions database aft EU sanctions were grandfathered into the British database aft Brexit, having been designated by the bloc successful 2018.

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty told Sky News: "Yesterday, the overseas caput couldn't corroborate to maine whether the recently sworn successful president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, was already sanctioned by the UK.

"How tin we expect the concern for the radical of Venezuela to amended if its caller president is portion of the authorities already deemed by america to beryllium illegitimate?"

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UK documents accidental the regulations "impose financial, manager disqualification, commercialized and migration sanctions" to promote the Venezuelan authorities "respect antiauthoritarian principles and institutions, the separation of powers and the regularisation of law; refrain from actions, policies oregon activities which repress civilian society; enactment successful negotiations with its governmental opponents successful bully religion to bring astir a peaceful solution to the governmental crisis; and comply with planetary quality rights instrumentality and respect quality rights".

And the question prohibition means: "Designated individuals volition beryllium refused permission to participate oregon stay successful the UK.

"Any applications they marque for a visa to question to the UK, including for transit purposes, volition beryllium refused.

"Any overseas nationalist who is taxable to a question prohibition nether these regulations, and who is presently successful the UK, volition person their support to enactment successful the UK cancelled, and steps volition beryllium taken to region them from the UK."

Many members of the Maduro authorities look successful the sanctions list, but notably not the antheral himself.

A nation's person being sanctioned is not novel, with the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko and Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing each presently nether akin measures.

Asked astir the sanctions, elder Labour MP and seat of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Dame Emily Thornbery said swathes of the Venezuelan authorities are sanctioned, including elder members of the judiciary and military.

She added: "There is simply a precise sizeable chunk of the constitution astatine the apical of Venezuela... now, if you're going to alteration Venezuela, you don't conscionable snatch Maduro successful the mediate of the night.

"There is overmuch much enactment that needs to beryllium done, and that is the reality."

A Downing Street root said they would not remark connected sanctions.

Sky News has approached the FCDO for comment.