MADRID (Sputnik) — Spain opposes the idea of EU sanctions against Venezuela as they might negatively affect country's population, Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said on Tuesday, stressing the need for individual measures instead.
"We have always said that we are against sanctions that might affect [Venezuela's] population but in favor of sanctions against those responsible for the current situation," Dastis told reporters, adding that coercive measures could include travel and visa restrictions for a number of officials.
The Spanish foreign minister expressed hope for the resolution of the situation with the arrest of Venezuela's key opposition figures Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma, who had been removed from their homes by the Venezuelan police earlier in the day.
On the same day, the United States introduced sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for "undermining democracy" in the Latin American nation.
The assembly's election was held amid protests that had erupted in Venezuela in early April when the country's Supreme Court decided to curb the legislative powers of the National Assembly. The court's decision was reversed, but the protests continued. The unrest ahead of the assembly's election resulted in at least 10 deaths, while the total number of fatalities in months of protests is more than 100.
