Following the Venezuelan election on Sunday, the Financial Times reports: “Trump bans purchase of Venezuelan debt in new sanctions.”

See for background: “The United States’ Hand in Undermining Democracy in Venezuela” by Alexander Main for the North American Congress on Latin America.

Also see recent piece by Roger D. Harris for Consortium News: “The U.S. is Meddling in Venezuelan Election.”

TERI MATTSON, teri at intrepidnewsfund.org
Mattson is program manager with the Intrepid News Fund, which has a delegation observing the election. She said: “Our delegation observed four different polling stations [Sunday]. All were compliant with CNE [National Electoral Council] specifications. Not all parties were present at every center as opposition parties failed to recruit and send enough witnesses to polls we observed. The day was slow compared to prior years I have observed. CNE reported 46 percent turnout among eligible voters. It was clear throughout the day the opposition parties were not participating. Non-participation does not equate to ‘unfair’ or ‘unfree.’ Non-participation was an individual choice and political strategy at large.” [The Institute for Public Accuracy is the administrative fiscal sponsor for Intrepid News Fund.]

LUCAS KOERNER, lmkoerner11 at gmail.com, @venanalysis
Koerner is a Caracas-based political analyst and editor for the website Venezuelanalysis.com and was just interviewed by The Real News — see: “Maduro Wins the Presidency in Venezuela — What Will the U.S. Do Next?“