Venezuela passes law enacting harsh penalties for supporters of US blockade
Al Jazeera
Government of President Nicolas Maduro denounces US seizure of oil tankers as illegal acts of piracy.
Venezuela’s National Assembly has passed a law enacting harsh penalties for those who support or help finance blockades and acts of piracy, including up to 20 years in prison.
The legislation was passed on Tuesday after the United States seized oil tankers linked to Venezuela, acts that the government of President Nicolas Maduro has denounced as lawless acts of piracy.
“This law seeks to protect the national economy and avoid the erosion of living standards for the population,” lawmaker Giuseppe Alessandrello said, while presenting the law before the National Assembly, controlled by Maduro’s governing party.
The US has carried out a series of increasingly aggressive measures over the past several months, deploying sizeable military forces to Latin America, seizing oil tankers, killing dozens of people in military strikes on what it says are drug-trafficking boats, and threatening land strikes on Venezuela itself.
Fighting resumes hours before regional foreign ministers meet in Malaysia to discuss steps to de-escalate hostilities.
The country has seen a wave of recent mass abductions, as it suffers from multiple interlinked security concerns.
Yury Ushakov’s remarks come a day after US and Russian officials held talks on the US proposal in Florida.
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank amid continued violence against Palestinians.
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Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev says the talks were ‘constructive’ and will continue on Sunday.
The talks lauded the first stage of the truce, including humanitarian aid, return of captives and reduced hostilities.
Syrian state television denounces the Israeli incursion as another violation of the nation’s sovereignty.
At least 13 people in Gaza, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather.
Top US diplomat warns all involved will face lasting condemnation as fighting escalates in strategic central region.
The attacks come a week after three Americans, including two US soldiers, were killed in Syria’s Palmyra.
While thousands of documents are expected to be made public, the release falls short of the full Epstein file.