PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 128 STAT. 3011 

Public Law 113–278 

113th Congress 

An Act 

To impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of human rights 

of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen civil society in Venezuela, 

and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Venezuela Defense of Human 

Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress makes the following findings: 

(1) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the National Statistical Institute of Venezuela stated that the annual inflation 

rate in Venezuela in 2013 was 56.30, the highest level of 

inflation in the Western Hemisphere and the third highest 

level of inflation in the world behind South Sudan and Syria. 

(2) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Government 

of Venezuela have imposed a series of currency controls that 

has exacerbated economic problems and, according to the World 

Economic Forum, has become the most problematic factor for 

doing business in Venezuela. 

(3) The Central Bank of Venezuela declared that the scarcity index of Venezuela reached 29.4 percent in March 2014, 

which signifies that fewer than one in 4 basic goods is unavailable at any given time. The Central Bank has not released 

any information on the scarcity index since that time. 

(4) Since 1999, violent crime in Venezuela has risen sharply 

and the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, an independent nongovernmental organization, found the national per capita 

murder rate to be 79 per 100,000 people in 2013. 

(5) The international nongovernmental organization 

Human Rights Watch recently stated, ‘‘Under the leadership 

of President Cha`vez and now President Maduro, the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the erosion of human 

rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, 

censor, and prosecute its critics.’’. 

(6) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

2013 of the Department of State maintained that in Venezuela 

‘‘the government did not respect judicial independence or permit 

judges to act according to the law without fear of retaliation’’ 

and ‘‘the government used the judiciary to intimidate and selectively prosecute political, union, business, and civil society 

leaders who were critical of government policies or actions’’. 

Venezuela 

Defense of 

Human Rights 

and Civil Society 

Act of 2014. 

50 USC 1701 

note. 

Dec. 18, 2014 

[S. 2142] 


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128 STAT. 3012 PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 

(7) The Government of Venezuela has detained foreign 

journalists and threatened and expelled international media 

outlets operating in Venezuela, and the international nongovernmental organization Freedom House declared that Venezuela’s ‘‘media climate is permeated by intimidation, sometimes including physical attacks, and strong antimedia rhetoric 

by the government is common’’. 

(8) Since February 4, 2014, the Government of Venezuela 

has responded to antigovernment protests with violence and 

killings perpetrated by its public security forces. 

(9) In May 2014, Human Rights Watch found that the 

unlawful use of force perpetrated against antigovernment protesters was ‘‘part of a systematic practice by the Venezuelan 

security forces’’. 

(10) As of September 1, 2014, 41 people had been killed, 

approximately 3,000 had been arrested unjustly, and more than 

150 remained in prison and faced criminal charges as a result 

of antigovernment demonstrations throughout Venezuela. 

(11) Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was arrested on 

February 18, 2014, in relation to the protests and was unjustly 

charged with criminal incitement, conspiracy, arson, and property damage. Since his arrest, Lopez has been held in solitary 

confinement and has been denied 58 out of 60 of his proposed 

witnesses at his ongoing trial. 

(12) As of September 1, 2014, not a single member of 

the public security forces of the Government of Venezuela had 

been held accountable for acts of violence perpetrated against 

antigovernment protesters. 

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN VENEZUELA AND THE NEED TO PREVENT FURTHER 

VIOLENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

It is the sense of Congress that— 

(1) the United States aspires to a mutually beneficial relationship with Venezuela based on respect for human rights 

and the rule of law and a functional and productive relationship 

on issues of public security, including counternarcotics and 

counterterrorism; 

(2) the United States supports the people of Venezuela 

in their efforts to realize their full economic potential and 

to advance representative democracy, human rights, and the 

rule of law within their country; 

(3) the chronic mismanagement by the Government of Venezuela of its economy has produced conditions of economic 

hardship and scarcity of basic goods and foodstuffs for the 

people of Venezuela; 

(4) the failure of the Government of Venezuela to guarantee 

minimal standards of public security for its citizens has led 

the country to become one of the most violent and corrupt 

in the world; 

(5) the Government of Venezuela continues to take steps 

to remove checks and balances on the executive, politicize the 

judiciary, undermine the independence of the legislature 

through use of executive decree powers, persecute and prosecute 

its political opponents, curtail freedom of the press, and limit 

the free expression of its citizens; 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 128 STAT. 3013 

(6) Venezuelans, responding to ongoing economic hardship, 

high levels of crime and violence, and the lack of basic political 

rights and individual freedoms, have turned out in demonstrations in Caracas and throughout the country to protest the 

failure of the Government of Venezuela to protect the political 

and economic well-being of its citizens; and 

(7) the repeated use of violence perpetrated by the National 

Guard and security personnel of Venezuela, as well as persons 

acting on behalf of the Government of Venezuela, against 

antigovernment protesters that began on February 4, 2014, 

is intolerable and the use of unprovoked violence by protesters 

is also a matter of serious concern. 

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD VENEZUELA. 

It is the policy of the United States— 

(1) to support the people of Venezuela in their aspiration 

to live under conditions of peace and representative democracy 

as defined by the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the 

Organization of American States; 

(2) to work in concert with the other member states within 

the Organization of American States, as well as the countries 

of the European Union, to ensure the peaceful resolution of 

the current situation in Venezuela and the immediate cessation 

of violence against antigovernment protestors; 

(3) to hold accountable government and security officials 

in Venezuela responsible for or complicit in the use of force 

in relation to antigovernment protests and similar future acts 

of violence; and 

(4) to continue to support the development of democratic 

political processes and independent civil society in Venezuela. 

SEC. 5. SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the sanctions 

described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person, 

including any current or former official of the Government of Venezuela or any person acting on behalf of that Government, that 

the President determines— 

(1) has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering or otherwise directing, significant acts of violence or serious human 

rights abuses in Venezuela against persons associated with 

the antigovernment protests in Venezuela that began on February 4, 2014; 

(2) has ordered or otherwise directed the arrest or prosecution of a person in Venezuela primarily because of the person’s 

legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or assembly; or 

(3) has knowingly materially assisted, sponsored, or provided significant financial, material, or technological support 

for, or goods or services in support of, the commission of acts 

described in paragraph (1) or (2). 

(b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in this subsection 

are the following: 

(A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The exercise of all powers 

granted to the President by the International Emergency 

Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent 

necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a person determined by 

President. 

Determination. 


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128 STAT. 3014 PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 

the President to be subject to subsection (a) if such property 

and interests in property are in the United States, come 

within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person. 

(B) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER DOCUMENTATION.—In the case of 

an alien determined by the President to be subject to 

subsection (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion from the 

United States of, the alien, and revocation in accordance 

with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any visa or other documentation 

of the alien. 

(2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, attempts to violate, 

conspires to violate, or causes a violation of paragraph (1)(A) 

or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent 

as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section. 

(3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.—The 

requirement to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under paragraph (1)(A) shall 

not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation 

of goods. 

(4) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

not apply to an alien if admitting the alien into the United 

States is necessary to permit the United States to comply 

with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 

into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations 

and the United States, or other applicable international obligations. 

(c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President— 

(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national interest 

of the United States; and 

(2) on or before the date on which the waiver takes effect, 

submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 

and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 

Financial Services of the House of Representatives a notice 

of and justification for the waiver. 

(d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall issue such 

regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out 

this section. 

(e) TERMINATION.—The requirement to impose sanctions under 

this section shall terminate on December 31, 2016. 

(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ and ‘‘alien’’ 

have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

(2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘financial institution’’ has the meaning given that term in section 5312 of 

title 31, United States Code. 

Deadline. 

Notification. 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 128 STAT. 3015 

(3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign person’’ means 

a person that is not a United States person. 

(4) GOOD.—The term ‘‘good’’ has the meaning given that 

term in section 16 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 

(50 U.S.C. App. 2415) (as continued in effect pursuant to the 

International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 

et seq.)). 

(5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with respect to 

conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person 

has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, 

the circumstance, or the result. 

(6) MATERIALLY ASSISTED.—The term ‘‘materially assisted’’ 

means the provision of assistance that is significant and of 

a kind directly relevant to acts described in paragraph (1) 

or (2) of subsection (a). 

(7) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 

admitted for permanent residence to the United States; 

or 

(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United 

States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, 

including a foreign branch of such an entity. 

SEC. 6. REPORT ON BROADCASTING, INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION, 

AND CIRCUMVENTION TECHNOLOGY DISTRIBUTION IN VENEZUELA. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board 

of Governors (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) shall 

submit to Congress a report that includes— 

(1) a thorough evaluation of the governmental, political, 

and technological obstacles faced by the people of Venezuela 

in their efforts to obtain accurate, objective, and comprehensive 

news and information about domestic and international affairs; 

(2) an assessment of current efforts relating to broadcasting, information distribution, and circumvention technology 

distribution in Venezuela, by the United States Government 

and otherwise; and 

(3) a strategy for expanding such efforts in Venezuela, 

including recommendations for additional measures to expand 

upon current efforts. 

(b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) shall 

include— 

(1) an assessment of the current level of Federal funding 

dedicated to broadcasting, information distribution, and circumvention technology distribution in Venezuela by the Board 

before the date of the enactment of this Act; 

(2) an assessment of the extent to which the current level 

and type of news and related programming and content provided by the Voice of America and other sources is addressing 

the informational needs of the people of Venezuela; and 

Evaluation. 

Assessment. 

Recommendations. 


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128 STAT. 3016 PUBLIC LAW 113–278—DEC. 18, 2014 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2142: 

SENATE REPORTS: No. 113–175 (Comm. on Foreign Relations). 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 160 (2014): 

Dec. 8, considered and passed Senate. 

Dec. 10, considered and passed House. 

Æ 

(3) recommendations for increasing broadcasting, information distribution, and circumvention technology distribution in 

Venezuela. 

Approved December 18, 2014. 


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