By Edith Loyola 
This Friday, the White House issued a warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, urging him to disclose the official results of the elections held on July 28. They made it clear that, should he fail to do so, the United States could implement new sanctions and take further actions against Venezuela.
According to reports, the message was delivered during a telephone press briefing. In it, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby stated that sanctions had already been imposed and that “nothing” was off the table for the future.
He also mentioned that the Venezuelan president “has options and decisions that only he can make,” with the first being to release all electoral data and results.
“He has options and decisions that only he can make,” and “the first decision he must make is to publish all the electoral data and results so that the world can see how these elections were conducted and to what extent the will of the Venezuelan people was truly fulfilled,” the spokesperson said.
The U.S. sent this message following its condemnation on Thursday, when it sanctioned 16 Venezuelan officials. Among them were members of the Supreme Court, the National Electoral Council (CNE), and the National Assembly, who, according to the U.S. government, “falsely” declared Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the presidential elections on July 28.
For its part, the Venezuelan government issued a statement strongly rejecting these sanctions.
“The new crime of aggression committed by the Government of the United States of America against Venezuela, by imposing unilateral, illegitimate, and illegal coercive measures on a group of state officials,” said the Venezuelan government.