U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday announced sanctions against 21 people aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The United States announced new individual sanctions Wednesday on more than 20 officials aligned with Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, to put pressure on Maduro to accept the results of Venezuela’s July presidential election,

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States has imposed sanctions on an additional 21 allies of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing them on Wednesday of perpetrating some of the repression with which officials in the country responded to July's disputed presidential election.

The United States has taken a bold step against the allies of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, placing sanctions on 21 more individuals accused of repressing citizens after the country’s controversial presidential election in July.

The Biden administration issued new sanctions against Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela on Wednesday, marking four months since he refused to cede power after losing the country’s presidential election.

The US sanctioned 21 officials it said supported Venezuelan President Maduro’s effort to defy results of an election that the country’s opposition say he lost.

The Biden administration is sanctioning nearly two dozen Venezuelan security and Cabinet officials aligned with President Nicolás Maduro, building on a series of sanctions it has imposed along with other countries following July elections the U.

Dozens of people detained during protests over Venezuela’s disputed presidential election have been released, according to the local rights group Foro Penal.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced sanctions against 21 Venezuelan officials over the wave of political repression following the country’s disputed July 28 election, which incumbent Nicolás Maduro claimed to win despite opposition vote-tracking showing otherwise.