CNN —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, senior administration officials said in a briefing with reporters. Thursday marks exactly four months from the July election, and senior officials believe the new sanctions will put pressure on Venezuelan officials to break ranks from the Maduro government and facilitate a democratic transition in that country. The new round of sanctions target military officials in the Bolivarian National Guard, Bolivarian National Police and other branches of the security apparatus, the US officials said. Among the officials sanctioned Wednesday are Maduro’s newly-installed chief of staff, Anibal Coronado, Communication Minister Freddy Ñañez, and the director of intelligence services Alexis Rodriguez. Asked if there has been any communication with President-elect Donald Trump’s national security team about Venezuela, one of the officials sidestepped.

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Persons: Nicolas Maduro, Anibal Coronado, Freddy Ñañez, Alexis Rodriguez, Edmundo Gonzalez, Antony Blinken, Donald Trump’s, “, Biden, Maduro, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, United States, Bolivarian National Guard, Bolivarian National Police, Communication, Venezuelan, US Department of, Foreign, Control, Department of Justice Locations: Chevron, Venezuela, United States, Venezuelan, Rio de Janeiro, ”