Venezuela condemns new US and European sanctions

Venezuela on Saturday condemned new sanctions that the U.S., Britain, and the European Union imposed the previous day, when the country swore in President Nicolas Maduro for a third term after a six-month election dispute.

"The Venezuelan Armed Forces categorically and energetically rejects the new sanctions imposed by the infamous imperial brotherhood," wrote general Domingo Hernandez Larez, head of the Strategic Operational Command of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela in a statement posed on social media.

He called the sanctions a "desperate action, outside the rule of international law."

The condemnation came after outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden's administration increased its reward to $25 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro on drug trafficking charges. The previous reward was $15 million.