The US Department of State said on Wednesday that it was imposing travel restrictions on Venezuelan officials whom it considered to be responsible for human rights abuses during recent antigovernment protests.
The move followed an embarrassing episode for Washington in which it tried and failed to get custody of a former Venezuelan general who is wanted in the US on narcotics charges. The episode produced a propaganda victory for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a leftist who often accuses Washington of plotting against him.
Former Venezuelan general Hugo Carvajal was arrested last week in Aruba at the request of the US. Venezuela had designated Carvajal as its consul general to Aruba, but Aruban officials said he did not have diplomatic immunity because they had not accepted his appointment to the post.
However, the Netherlands, which handles some affairs for Aruba, its former colony, ruled that Carvajal had immunity and ordered him released. The unexpected development caught US diplomats flat-footed.
Carvajal returned home on Sunday to a hero’s welcome from Maduro, who said the charges against him were fabricated.
Indictments filed in US federal courts in New York City and Miami charge that Carvajal was on the payroll of Colombian narcotics traffickers and that he invested in and coordinated the transportation of drug shipments.
In a written statement on Wednesday about the new travel restrictions, the state department said Venezuelan security forces had responded to recent protests with arbitrary detentions and excessive force.
“We have seen repeated efforts to repress legitimate expression of dissent through judicial intimidation, to limit freedom of the press and to silence members of the political opposition,” state department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in the statement.
A senior state department official said on Wednesday that the Venezuelans who would be barred from entering the US included Cabinet officials, agency heads, mayors, judges and members of the military, the national guard, the police and the intelligence services.
The names of the officials affected by the restrictions were not released. The state department statement said that was because of confidentiality rules regarding visas.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua condemned the US action with several posts on his ministry’s Twitter account, calling it “a desperate cry against a changing world.”
Similar visa restrictions are included in legislation proposed in the US Congress that would also impose financial penalties against some Venezuelans.
The office of US Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who is a co-sponsor of the legislation, said that 24 high-ranking Venezuelan officials were affected by Wednesday’s action.
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