U.S. officials say the Trump administration is poised to hit Venezuela with new sanctions amid widespread unrest ahead of weekend elections that would lead to a rewrite of the country’s constitution.

The officials said the sanctions to be announced by the White House later Wednesday would target senior current and former government and military officials as well as some linked to Venezuela’s state oil company. The officials were not authorized to discuss the sanctions publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The sanctions will include asset freezes and travel bans.

In a tweet, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said 13 people would be affected by the sanctions. Rubio has been a strong proponent of sanctions against President Nicolas Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian government and its crackdown on the opposition.

(AP)

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