WASHINGTON – The United States slapped sanctions on 21 senior Venezuelan security and cabinet officials Wednesday for leading a crackdown on the opposition after President Nicolas Maduro’s contested July reelection. “Maduro and his representatives’ repressive actions in the wake of the Venezuelan presidential election are a desperate attempt to silence the voices of its citizens,” Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury Bradley Smith said in a statement. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (R) shows a document with the signatures of the agreement on the recognition of the presidential election results as he addresses the media next to his wife Cilia Flores after appearing before the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in Caracas. (AFP)