The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan politicians it said led a bid by President Nicolas Maduro to wrest control of the country’s congress from U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. Earlier this month, troops blocked Guaido from entering congress long enough for the Socialist Party to declare allied legislator Luis Parra as head of parliament. Opposition legislators in a separate session on Jan. 5 re-elected Guaido and later returned to the legislative palace to hold session. Washington blacklisted Parra and six of his allies “who, at the bidding of Maduro, attempted to block the democratic process in Venezuela,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The other Maduro-aligned politicians sanctioned on Monday are: Jose Noriega, Franklyn Duarte, Jose […]