The United States Treasury has sanctioned the Vice President of Venezuela. That means he cannot do business with the United States and no one can do business with the United States through him. In a top-heavy country like Venezuela, that means many people who would typically go through Vice President Tareck El Aissami now can’t do anything. That’s similar to our sanctions on Russia.
Here’s what happened.
Venezuela has been issues fake visas to America to Syrians. They’ve set up numerous offices to counterfeit and issue fake visas so that Syrians can enter the United States perhaps even with a stamp saying they’d been there before and other stamps that indicate a route they took to get there that doesn’t include Venezuela, so Venezuela can’t get caught in this scam. The concern, of course, is who is willing to participate in such a scam but people willing to do harm to the United States and perhaps other countries, as well. Certainly, we’re aware that terrorists use such methods and honest people tend to wait in the incredibly long and sometimes fatal line to even get an appointment for an immigration interview. Still, they wait because they want to follow the rules given the malicious alternatives.
Additionally, the United States has labeled the vice president as a drug kingpin. His U.S. assets are frozen, as the United States has said he is “significantly involved in” narcotrafficking. In other words, it’s bad.
Why does all this matter?