Obama administration would back sanctions against Venezuela - official

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with students at Miraflores Palace in Caracas November 19, 2014. REUTERS/Miraflores Palace/Handout via Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration would like to work with the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on Venezuela in response to a crackdown on anti-government protests, President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Tony Blinken, who is Obama's choice to be deputy secretary of state, said Washington had refrained from pushing for sanctions in the past few months to allow diplomatic efforts by some Latin American countries to secure the release of opposition leaders from jail and nudge Caracas toward electoral reform.