Venezuela slams U.S. for extending sanctions

CARACAS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela denounced the U.S. government Wednesday for maintaining sanctions against the South American country.

The White House "has opted to continue applying its economic terrorism through its more than 930 measures against our country," the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

U.S. President Joe Biden decided on Tuesday to extend Executive Order 13692, which was issued in 2015 under former President Barack Obama and declares "a national emergency with respect to the situation in Venezuela," for another year, saying that Venezuela continues to "pose an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States in a press release.

The executive order has been used to "justify a sustained campaign of aggression against the Venezuelan people, in violation of every norm of international law, constituting a case of collective punishment," the Venezuelan statement said.

The decision is "unnecessary, absurd and hostile," and indicates that the United States "is not capable of designing a coherent foreign policy that is not based on coercion, extortion or disrespect," it said.

"Regardless of what the United States does, Venezuela is a country determined to be free and it will prevail," the ministry said.

In late January, Biden also reimposed sanctions on Venezuela targeting its oil and gas sector, saying the move was in response to the decision by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government to ban a leading opposition candidate from running for president.