Sanctions from United States Do Not Include Citizens

The internationalist Tony Rosado explained that the measures are directed at seven Venezuelan officials in an interview with Gladys Rodriguez.

Tony Rosado, a specialist in U.S.-Latin American affairs, explained this Monday in an interview with Gladys Rodriguez – broadcast by Circuito Exitos 99.9. FM – that the sanctions approved by Barack Obama against Venezuelan officials are directed exclusively at seven government officials and do not include the Venezuelans.

“There is a list in the federal government on which nations that can be considered to be a danger or threat to U.S. national security are placed; however, this is not directed at the citizens, but rather government authorities,” he stated.

The internationalist assured that Barack Obama’s administration has the legal tools and procedural laws necessary to impose three types of sanctions on any country declared to be a “threat” to the U.S.:

1. Declaring the person inadmissible in the United States.

2. Freezing bank accounts and assets of any type in the U.S. belonging to the individual.

3. Prohibiting U.S. companies from carrying on business relations with concrete Venezuelan individuals that have been sanctioned. In this manner, the energy sector is excluded from this scrutiny.

The first and last names of each person sanctioned are made known in an appendix of the decree. In December of 2014, Florida Senator Marco Rubio made an unofficial list known with officials that could possibly be sanctioned. However, this list was not definitive, as it had not indicated anyone in particular.

The internationalist expressed that the sanctions imposed by Obama’s administration will be permanent until he himself decides to lift them.

Concerning the recent decision by the Venezuelan government to require a visa for U.S. travelers that want to enter the country, Rosado affirmed that the measure generated consternation in Latino communities in the U.S. and has led to worries that airlines may decide to stop service to Venezuela due to low demand for tickets, together with the debt that the Latin American country has owed them for some time.

Under U.S. law the idea of dual nationality does not exist. For someone to become a U.S. citizen, he or she has to renounce their original nationality. However, although the individual is considered to be exclusively American from that moment on, most countries do not recognize this loss in nationality, unless it occurred in their country of origin.

“It is still not known whether President Maduro’s new regulations will be interpreted this way by Venezuelan authorities, for which, in this case, those born in Venezuela should not need a visa to enter, even though they have U.S. citizenship,” he concluded.