The US Department of the Treasury [official website] on Thursday announced sanctions [press release] against eight Venezuelan Supreme Court justices for usurping democracy. The sanctions come after the court has issued controversial rulings, including dissolving the legislature [JURIST report]. The rulings were met with backlash and protests [JURIST reports]. As a result the treasury announced sanctions against the justices pursuant to Executive Order 13692 [summary]:

The eight officials are the President of Venezuela’s TSJ, Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, and the seven principal members of the TSJ’s Constitutional Chamber (La Sala Constitucional del TSJ or TSJ-C): Juan Jose Mendoza Jover (Second Vice President of the TSJ and President of the TSJ-C); Arcadio de Jesus Delgado Rosales (Vice President of the TSJ-C); Gladys Maria Gutierrez Alvarado (Magistrate of the TSJ-C and former President of the TSJ); Carmen Auxiliadora Zuleta de Merchan (Magistrate of the TSJ-C); Luis Fernando Damiani Bustillos (Magistrate of the TSJ-C); Lourdes Benicia Suarez Anderson (Magistrate of the TSJ-C); and Calixto Antonio Ortega Rios (Magistrate of the TSJ-C). As a result of today’s actions, all of the designated individuals’ assets within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them

The US House of Representatives passed a bill [JURIST report] Wednesday to impose sanctions on supporters of Syria’s Assad regime. Bill 1677, also known as Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, is intended to encourage negotiations to end violence and promote the prosecution of war criminals. The Ukrainian Security and Defense Council imposed [JURIST report] sanctions on a series of Russian tech companies Tuesday, citing security concerns over possible cyber attack. The North Korean legislature on last Friday sent a letter [JURIST report] to the US House of Representatives protesting new sanctions raised against the country