In the News

The U.S. could impose limited, targeted sanctions as a way to make things difficult for the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro, U.S. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston said Monday. But she warned such an action would have to be taken with great care.

“Fanning those flames through sanctions, the concern is [with] such a terrible economic situation there already, with many, many people living there in poverty … you could potentially through sanctions make things much, much worse for people on the ground,” Wasserman Schutz said at a news conference in Hollywood.

Wasserman Schultz spoke after meeting, along with U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, a Miami-Dade County Democrat, with 30 leaders of the Venezuelan community in a closed-door “listening session.” Weston has one of Florida’s largest populations of Venezuelans.

Besides hurting the citizens of Venezuela, Wasserman Schultz warned, sanctions could give Maduro more credibility with other nations in the hemisphere by allowing him to cast the U.S. as having a role in stirring unrest in his country.

Wasserman Schultz excoriated the Maduro regime for ending freedom of the press and imprisoning opponents of the government.

“The United States has always stood as a moral leader against human rights violations,” she said. “President Obama has been very clear about what has been going on in Venezuela is absolutely unacceptable.”

Wasserman Schultz, who said she spoke with a senior State Department official – whom she didn’t identify – before meeting with the Venezuelan community leaders said “we will use all options available.”

Garcia said he’d like President Barack Obama’s administration to order actions what would ease immigration concerns of some Venezuelans currently in the U.S.