Venezuela’s Supreme Court upheld a 15-year ban on opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from holding public office.

The United States has begun reimposing sanctions on Venezuela by restricting its mining sector after the South American country’s top court upheld it disqualification of an opposition presidential candidate.

All U.S. companies doing business with Venezuela’s state-owned mining company Minerven have until Feb. 13 to complete a “settlement of transactions” with the company, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Monday.

The United States warned Venezuela over the weekend that it could end some sanctions relief granted last year when Caracas agreed to a deal for elections in 2024, including setting up a process for potential candidates to challenge their disqualification.

On Friday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court, loyal to President Nicolas Maduro’s government, upheld a 15-year ban on opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and also confirmed the ineligibility of her possible replacement, two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.

Machado on Monday called the court ruling that blocked her presidential bid last week “judicial criminality” and vowed to stay in the race.

Sanctions relief

Maduro’s government had raised hopes among Washington and others when it reached an agreement with the Venezuelan opposition in Barbados last year to hold a free and fair vote in 2024 with international observers present.

That agreement led to Washington easing sanctions, allowing U.S.-based Chevron to resume limited oil production and paving the way for a prisoner swap.

On Monday, White House spokesman John Kirby said members of Maduro’s government had “failed to take the actions promised in Barbados.”

“So we have options available,” he said. “We definitely have options when it comes to sanctions and the like.”

Jorge Rodriguez, a lawmaker leading Maduro’s team in negotiations with the opposition, said before the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision that if Washington took “any aggressive action,” Venezuela’s response would be “calm, reciprocal and forceful.”

Machado, a 56-year-old former lawmaker, won the independent opposition election Presidential primaries with more than 90 percent of the vote in October.

Her victory came despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her candidacy just days after her official launch in June.

The long-time government opponent was able to take part because the primary election was organized by a commission independent of Venezuela’s electoral authorities. Machado insisted throughout the campaign that she never received any official communication about the ban.

In December, Machado filed a lawsuit with the court arguing that the ban was null and void and seeking an injunction to protect her political rights.

Instead, the court upheld the ban, alleging fraud and tax violations and accusing them of seeking the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed on Venezuela over the last decade.