Backgrounder: Canada imposes sanctions against Venezuelan officials involved in human rights violations

Effective immediately, Canada is listing 14 individuals under the Special Economic Measures (Venezuela) Regulations who are current and former senior officials of the Venezuelan government and who have engaged in activities that have directly or indirectly supported human rights violations in Venezuela. These activities include ongoing violations and the repression of protests following the illegitimate election of Nicolás Maduro to the Venezuelan presidency in July 2024.

In light of the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, the Special Economic Measures (Venezuela) Regulations were amended on December 13, 2024, to enable Canada to impose sanctions more effectively in Venezuela, including in cases where gross and systematic human rights violations have occurred.

Canadian measures

The Special Economic Measures (Venezuela) Regulations impose a prohibition on dealings related to the listed individuals and entities, effectively freezing any assets they may have in Canada. Persons in Canada and Canadians outside the country are prohibited from dealing in the property of the listed individuals, and the listed individuals are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

The names of the 14 individuals added to the schedule of these regulations are:

• Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta, Prosecutor in the Directorate-General of Military Counter-intelligence (DGCIM)
• Farik Karin Salcedo Mora, prosecutor of the DGCIM
• Asdrubal José Brito Hernandez, Director of Criminal Investigations of the DGCIM
• Rafael Ramón Blanco Marrero, former deputy director of the DGCIM
• Hannover Esteban Guerrero Mijares, former director of the Special Directorate of Criminal and Criminalistics Investigations of the DGCIM
• Rafael Antonio Franco Quintero, former director of the Special Directorate of Criminal and Criminalistics Investigations of the DGCIM
• Javier José Marcano Tábata, head of the DGCIM and the Presidential Honour Guard
• Elio Ramón Estrada Paredes, Commander of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB)
• Johan Alexander Hernández Lárez, Commander of the Strategic Region for the Integral Defence Capital of the GNB
• Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga, Lieutenant Colonel of the GNB
• Miguel Antonio Muñoz Palacios, Deputy Director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN)
• Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, Director of SEBIN
• Domingo Antonio Hernández Lárez, Strategic Operational Commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces
• Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna, Brigadier General of the Bolivarian National Police