Iran Press/America: The UN rights chief on Thursday intensified criticism of US sanctions targeting Venezuela, condemning the latest measures as 'extremely broad' with the potential to exacerbate suffering among an already vulnerable population, AFP reported.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has raised a concern about previous sanctions imposed by Washington against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
In the new measures, the US President Donald Trump’s administration ordered a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States and barred transactions with its authorities.
“I am deeply worried about the potentially severe impact on the human rights of the people of Venezuela of the new set of unilateral sanctions imposed by the US this week,” Bachelet said in a statement.
"The sanctions are extremely broad and fail to contain sufficient measures to mitigate their impact on the most vulnerable sectors of the population," she added.
Bachelet, a former president of Chile, noted that the latest sanctions included exceptions for transactions related to certain food, clothing, and medicine.
"However, they are still likely to significantly exacerbate the crisis for millions of ordinary Venezuelans," she said.
Venezuela has plunged into a political crisis after Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself interim president in January.
Shortly after Guaido took an oath swearing himself in before his supporters, US President recognized him as the country's leader. In response, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro broke off diplomatic ties with the US and gave American diplomats 72 hours to get out of his country. 101/208
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