WASHINGTON — The leader of the Western Hemisphere’s largest diplomatic body said Wednesday he backs targeted sanctions against high-ranking Venezuelan officials responsible for the political and economic turmoil gripping the South American nation. “So sanctions may work or may not work. Trump administration officials also told reporters Tuesday that they were considering a wide range of sanctions on Venezuela, including cuts in oil imports. Trump has imposed travel bans and has frozen the assets of high-ranking officials in recent weeks, but refrained from broad sanctions against Venezuela that could deepen its economic crisis. More than 450 investigations into human rights violations have been opened, according to Almagro, and there are 444 political prisoners in Venezuela.

Source: National Post July 19, 2017 22:07 UTC