CIA Head Admits Having Inspired US Sanctions Against Venezuela

CIA Director Mike Pompeo admitted Tuesday that his office was behind some of the U.S. sanctions adopted against Venezuela's government.

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In a conversation following a conference at the American Enterprise Institute, the moderator asked Pompeo to enumerate some examples of the CIA reports that have drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The CIA official promptly quoted the case of Venezuela, saying that Trump requested additional information especially about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his “relation” with Venezuela's Armed Forces.

Trump “was not satisfied with the description of the situation we had presented,” responded Pompeo.” “He wanted more clarity about some financial matters, about who had economic power.”

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As a result, the CIA produced another round of reports on Venezuela, and “the second or third series of sanctions obeyed to our recommendations,” he said.

On Nov. 9, the United States enforced sanctions against 10 Venezuelan officials "associated with undermining electoral processes, media censorship, or corruption in government-administered food programs in Venezuela."

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed more sanctions on four Venezuelan senior military officers, accusing them of committing "corruption and oppression."

Assets that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are being frozen, and U.S. citizens will be generally prohibited from dealing with the officers, the department said in a statement.

In the announcement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also called on the international community to stand with Washington on the sanctions, Xinhua reports.