Venezuela to sanction US officials, limit diplomatic personnel, require visas for Americans

CARACAS (Xinhua) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that his government will deny visas to a number of United States officials whom he called "terrorists", including former president George W. Bush and senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez.

Speaking at an anti US rally, Maduro said these measures were taken to ease the "imperialist aggression" coming from Washington which has increased in the last few weeks.

"These are decisions I take as head of State in accordance with the Vienna Convention, our Bolivarian Constitution and the revolutionary conscience of the people of Venezuela. I call upon a world rebellion against US imperialism," he said.

Maduro added that he will limit the number of US diplomats allowed to work in this South American country and require US citizens to apply for visas if they want to visit.

The mandatary noted that US meddling in Venezuela's internal affairs has forced Maduro to adopt the series of restrictive measures.