VOA慢速英语--委内瑞拉副总统驳斥了美国的制裁

 

The United States is accusing a top Venezuelan official of being a major international drug trafficker.

The Trump¹ administration has announced sanctions against Vice² President Tareck El Aissami for his reported involvement in cocaine³ shipments from Venezuela.

The administration barred Al Aissami from using any money or other assets under his name in the United States. The Associated Press says the government also has banned him from entering the country.

El Aissami is the highest Venezuelan official ever to face U.S. sanctions. The government has classified him as a drug kingpin – someone who directs people in the illegal drug trade. -

On Tuesday, El Aissami said the Trump administration’s actions only strengthen his support for the revolution started by former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

In messages on social media, El Aissami said U.S. aggression⁴ will not stop him from doing his job of rescuing Venezuela's economy from sabotage⁵ by its conservative opponents.

Observers are unsure if the sanctions mean a tightening⁶ of U.S. policy toward Venezuela or a continuation of policies from the presidency⁷ of Barack Obama.

Under Obama, U.S. officials were careful not to demand the removal of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, as the opposition⁸ had been seeking. Instead, the U.S. government chose to support discussions aimed at avoiding violence. The Vatican also supported this policy.

Chris Sabatini is with Latin America Goes Global, a website that follows U.S. policy toward Latin America. He said there is increasing dissatisfaction that the discussions have yet to show results.

‘Criminal’ state?

El Aissami has been the target of U.S. law enforcement investigations⁹ for years, starting in his days as interior minister. The investigations began when falsified Venezuelan passports were found in the Middle East. Some were in the possession of suspected Hezbollah members.

A few years ago, Walid Makled, a jailed drug trafficker, told investigators¹⁰ he sent payments to Venezuelan officials through El Aissami's brother. He said in return for the money, officials permitted cocaine shipments through the country's ports and airports.

The U.S. announcement Monday said El Aissami had worked with drug traffickers in Mexico and Colombia to direct cocaine shipments from Venezuela.

Venezuelan businessman Samark Lopez was also sanctioned. Lopez is accused of hiding money earned from the drug trade in a number of companies and real estate in the U.S., Panama, British Virgin¹¹ Islands and Venezuela.

Words in This Story

sanction – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws

asset – n. something that is owned by a person or company

real estate – n. property consisting of buildings and land

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

4 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

5 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

6 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。