Venezuelan Mayor Jailed For Not Shutting Down Protests
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Venezuela's Supreme Court has jailed another Caracas area mayor for not obeying orders to shut down protests in his district.
David Smolansky was sentenced to 15 months behind bars. He is the fifth opposition mayor to be removed or jailed in the last two weeks.
Wednesday night sentencing comes as the United States imposes sanctions on eight more people for undermining democracy in the country, including the brother of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The U.S. has accused them of supporting the creation of a constituent assembly that's charged with rewriting the country's constitution and declaring itself superior to all other government institutions.
The U.S. has called the vote to create the assembly "illegitimate."
