The EU has decided to impose sanctions against Venezuelan officials, the first time the bloc has targeted individuals from the administration of the country's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, European sources told the AFP news agency Thursday.
According to the media report, sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials include freezing their assets and imposing a travel ban.
In early November, the EU decided to approve an arms embargo and sanctions on Venezuela. The move followed US President Donald Trump's executive order imposing new financial sanctions against the Venezuelan government in order to put financial pressure on the Maduro-led government. In its turn, Venezuela has blamed US meddling for its economic situation.
According to the country's president, it was aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country amid the ongoing economic and political crises, but the opposition was strongly against the move, regarding it as an attempted coup.
Since September 2017, the sides have held three rounds of talks hosted by the Dominican Republic, with the latest round focused on normalizing the situation in the country.