International pressure on Venezuela crystallises
The US slapped sanctions on eight members of Venezuela’s new constituent assembly on 9 August, including Adán Chávez, brother of the late president Hugo Chávez (1999-2013). “President [Nicolás] Maduro swore in this illegitimate Constituent Assembly to further entrench his dictatorship,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “This regime’s disregard for the will of the Venezuelan people is unacceptable, and the United States will stand with them in opposition to tyranny.”