US Sanctions Chinese Tech Firm for Having Ties With Venezuela

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sanctioned China Corporation of Electronic Imports and Exports (CEIEC) for allegedly supporting Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro to "undermine democracy" in his country.

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An official statement argues that the Chinese technology company would give the Bolivarian government software to restrict citizens' access to the Internet and monitor their actions on the network.

"The United States will not hesitate to target anyone helping to suppress the democratic will of the Venezuelan people and others around the world," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as reported by Reuters.

For his part, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the opportunity to stress that the United States will not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections to be held in Venezuela on December 6.

According to U.S. authorities, CEIEC has been supporting "malicious cyber forces" since 2017 by providing Venezuela with software, training, and technical expertise.

By way of proof, they hold that the Chinese company provided support and technical experts to the National Telephone Company of Venezuela (CANTV), which controls 70 percent of Internet service in the Latin American country.

As a result of this new arbitrary sanction, all the properties or property rights of CEIEC, which are in the United States or in the possession of the U.S. citizens, must be blocked and must be notified to the Treasury. Any transaction with the company is also prohibited.