Venezuela condemned new US sanctions introduced against Caracas calling them crime against humanity, the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent US citizens from using Venezuela’s new digital currency. The US Department of Treasury also included four incumbent and former Venezuelan officials in the sanctions list.
“With these actions Trump’s administration … is committing a crime against humanity that may be regarded by the International Criminal Court as a violation of the Article 7 of the Rome Statute,” the statement said.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry noted that the US unilateral sanctions violated the UN Charter and principles of the international law determining civilized relations between sovereign countries.
“They [sanctions] are new imperial aggression aimed at financial persecution and economic boycott as well as pushing our economy into chaos and destroying the will of our people to live in freedom, peace and hope,” the statement added.
The US-Venezuelan relations have been remaining tense for decades with Caracas regularly accusing Washington of interfering in its internal affairs and exerting economic and political pressure on Venezuela
A senior US administration official said earlier that the United States is still considering the option of imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector but has no specific timetable for such action.
Article originally appeared on Today Venezuela and is republished here with permission.