The latest US sanctions on financial transfers linked to the sale of Venezuelan oil in the United States “may contribute to aggravating the economic crisis”, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted, addressing the Human Rights Council, Reuters reported.

According to her, Venezuelan security forces have quashed peaceful protests with excessive use of force, killings and torture.

She noted that Venezuelan authorities had failed to acknowledge the extent and severity of the health and food crisis that has driven more than 3 million people to flee abroad since 2015, and had adopted “insufficient” measures, Bachelet said.