Boris Johnson says fresh sanctions could be imposed on Venezuela after re-election of Nicolas Maduro
Speaking in Buenos Aires, the Foreign Secretary has said the prospect of sanctions against the Caracas regime is growing
FRESH sanctions could be imposed on Venezuela to "tighten the economic screw" after the “obviously rigged” re-election of tyrant Nicolas Maduro, Boris Johnson has said.
He condemned the elections, which gives the socialist leader another six-year term, as “deeply flawed”.
And the Foreign Secretary tore into Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for continuing to condemn Mr Maduro’s brutal regime.
He branded Mr Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hypocrites for insisting on appeasing Maduro’s regime at the same time as attacking Donald Trump.
Mr Johnson blasted last night: “It’s striking that you’ve got the Labour opposition refusing to condemn Maduro but lining up to denounce the visit of our closest, most trusted, most important ally. It is beyond satire, it is a paradox.”
Speaking in Buenos Aires, where he’s attending a G20 meeting of foreign ministers, he said the prospect of sanctions against the Caracas regime is growing.
Mr Johnson said: "We will be talking about what we can do.
"The feeling I get from talking to my counterparts is that they see no alternative to economic pressure and it's very sad because obviously the downside of sanctions is that they can affect the population that you don't want to suffer.
"But in the end, as one politician in this area said, things have got to get worse before they get better - and we may have to tighten the economic screw on Venezuela."
Mr Johnson, who is on a five-day tour of Latin America, said the polls were "neither free nor fair" and had "further eroded Venezuelan democracy".
"I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Maduro pressed ahead with deeply flawed elections to secure his own survival," he said.
He urged the Maduro regime to take action over the economic crisis which has seen thousands of Venezuelans leave the country to find work elsewhere in the continent.
"I remain deeply concerned by the man-made humanitarian and economic crisis, which is growing worse by the day," he said.
"I urge the Venezuelan government to take immediate action and let the international community deliver essential food and medicines.
"The suffering of ordinary Venezuelan people cannot be allowed to continue."
Mr Johnson said that after the UK had left the European Union it will have more freedom to impose its own sanctions in situations like Venezuela, without the need to secure the agreement of 27 other European states.
"We won't necessarily have to march in lock step with the EU," he said.
"It has been very difficult. Spain and the UK have been in the lead in trying to impose sanctions on Venezuela. We've had to drag everybody else with us."