The White House announced today that it was placing sanctions on four Venezuelan officials that it claims are responsible for the death of captain Rafael Acosta Arevalo last month.
After being arrested on June 21, Arevalo was held incommunicado for eight days. When he finally appeared in court for the first time on June 29, he was exhibiting such obvious signs of “serious” torture that the judge ordered him sent to a hospital. He died a few hours later.
The officials targeted by these newest sanctions are all members of the agency responsible for Acosta’s arrest and detention: the General Directorate for Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). The sanctions individuals are:
- Division General Rafael Ramon Blanco Marrero
- Colonel Hannover Esteban Guerrero Mijares
- Major Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga
- Colonel Rafael Antonio Franco Quintero
The sanctions freeze any assets that the named individuals may have in the U.S., and prohibits all U.S. entities from conducting business with them.
Questions/Comments? E-mail me: invenezuelablog@gmail.com
In Venezuela 