U.S. House lawmakers voted to require sanctions against Venezuelan officials involved in a crackdown against protesters and opposition leaders in that country. The measure passed by voice vote yesterday in Washington . The legislation is intended to “hold these human rights violators accountable,” said bill sponsor Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican. “The first step in doing so is hitting them in their pocketbooks and denying them entry into the United States .” Venezuela has cracked down on protests that started in February over the world’s fastest inflation, crime and shortages of staples such as food and toilet paper. At least 42 people have been killed in the demonstrations. Amnesty International said April 1 it had received dozens of accounts of torture allegedly carried out by security forces since the protests began. The U.S. State Department has so far resisted calls from Congress for sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas […]