US imposes sanctions on Venezuela's Supreme Court as opposition leader stopped from travelling to UN

The US has slapped new sanctions on eight members of Venezuela's Supreme Court, accusing them of abusing power and damaging their nation's democratic fabric as the Trump administration raises concerns that socialist president Nicolas Maduro is moving toward one-party, authoritarian rule.

Those blacklisted by the Treasury Department include Maikel Moreno, the president of the government-packed Supreme Court, as well as all seven justices who signed a ruling in late March stripping the opposition-controlled congress of its last remaining powers.