The US wants to increase the pressure on Venezuela with new sanctions. In focus: the secret service. Use President Maduro to silence members of the National Assembly.

With an extension of its sanctions against Venezuela, the US wants to put more pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. US Security Adviser John Bolton announced via Twitter new penalties against officials of the Venezuelan secret service Sebin.

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Maduro uses the secret service to undermine democracy and silence the members of the National Assembly, Bolton said: “This is unacceptable and against the will of the Venezuelan people.” The secret service arrested Wednesday the deputy president of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano.

Charge for high treason
Zambrano and about ten other MPs are charged with treason. They are accused of being involved in the rebellion of parts of the military on April 30, which did not bring about the revolution that the opposition hoped for.

The self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó said that with mass arrests Maduro wants to silence the National Assembly as the only legitimized power. In the national assembly disempowered by Maduro, the opposition has the majority.