II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 504 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons that engage in certain 

transactions relating to Cuba and to impose sanctions with respect to 

human rights abuse and corruption in Cuba, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, 

Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons that 

engage in certain transactions relating to Cuba and to 

impose sanctions with respect to human rights abuse 

and corruption in Cuba, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Denying Earnings to 

5 the Military Oligarchy in Cuba and Restricting Activities 

6 of the Cuban Intelligence Apparatus Act’’ or the 

7 ‘‘DEMOCRACIA Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Cuban Communist takeover of 1959 es4 tablished in Cuba a one-party authoritarian state of 

5 the Cuban Communist Party. 

6 (2) Cuba is a totalitarian state, in which the 

7 Cuban Communist Party has brutally oppressed the 

8 people of Cuba for more than 60 years. 

9 (3) Cuban democracy activists, including Las 

10 Damas de Blanco (also known as ‘‘Ladies in 

11 White’’), a group composed of wives and relatives of 

12 political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and 

13 peaceful activists in Cuba, are routinely repressed, 

14 censured, beaten, and unjustly imprisoned by the 

15 Cuban Communist Party. 

16 (4) On July 11, 2021, protesters marched in 

17 the streets throughout Cuba voicing their opposition 

18 against the communist regime of Cuba. 

19 (5) During those protests, Cubans in more than 

20 40 cities held demonstrations chanting ‘‘Freedom!’’, 

21 ‘‘Down with the Dictatorship!’’, and ‘‘Patria y Vida’’ 

22 (‘‘Homeland and Life’’). 

23 (6) Through those protests, the people of Cuba 

24 demanded the end to communism in Cuba and ac25 cess to food, medicine, water, and electricity, basic 


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1 needs that the communist system in Cuba cannot 

2 provide. 

3 (7) Cubans gathered outside of the head4 quarters of the Cuban Communist Party chanting, 

5 ‘‘Cuba isn’t yours!’’. In a clear message, Cubans ex6 ercised their fundamental God-given rights to peace7 ably assemble, express their political opinions, and 

8 live free of censorship and oppression and demanded 

9 the ruling elites, especially the Cuban Communist 

10 Party, release its control of their government and 

11 give the power back to the people. 

12 (8) During the July 11, 2021, protests, the 

13 Cuban Communist Party deployed a wave of terror 

14 throughout Cuba by— 

15 (A) unleashing its secret police and some 

16 military forces on peaceful protesters and un17 lawfully detained them, including by— 

18 (i) harassing and threatening people 

19 in their homes; 

20 (ii) abducting and torturing civil soci21 ety leaders and other Cubans peacefully 

22 exercising their fundamental rights; and 

23 (iii) detaining more than 800 Cubans 

24 for peacefully protesting, who have gone 

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1 tions began, including leaders from Cuban 

2 civil society groups such as UNPACU, the 

3 San Isidro Movement, the Ladies in White, 

4 and religious leaders; and 

5 (B) in a crude and savage effort to silence 

6 the Cuban people, cutting internet connectivity 

7 and mobile services throughout Cuba, which 

8 prevented the Cuban people from organizing 

9 and hid from the outside world images and vid10 eos of the oppressive and brutal crackdown by 

11 the Government of Cuba. 

12 (9) In response to these demonstrations and 

13 protests, the regime blocked access to social media, 

14 messaging platforms and cellular services, and ar15 rested and detained hundreds of protesters, activists, 

16 and journalists, according to Cuban human rights 

17 groups. 

18 (10) The Human Rights Report on Cuba for 

19 2020 set forth by the Department of State found 

20 that Cuba is an authoritarian state. 

21 (11) A new constitution ratified in February 

22 2019 codified that Cuba remains a one-party system 

23 in which the Cuban Communist Party is the only 

24 legal political party. Elections in Cuba were neither 

25 free, fair, nor competitive. 


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1 (12) The Ministry of Interior of Cuba 

2 (MININT) controls police, internal security forces, 

3 and the prison system. The National Revolutionary 

4 Police are the primary law enforcement organization 

5 of the Ministry. Specialized units of the state secu6 rity branch of the Ministry are responsible for moni7 toring, infiltrating, and suppressing independent po8 litical activity. The national leadership of Cuba, in9 cluding members of the military, maintain effective 

10 control over the security forces. Members of the se11 curity forces have committed numerous abuses. 

12 (13) Significant human rights issues in Cuba 

13 include the following: 

14 (A) Unlawful or arbitrary killings by the 

15 Government of Cuba, including extrajudicial 

16 killings. 

17 (B) Forced disappearances by the Govern18 ment of Cuba. 

19 (C) Torture and cruel, inhuman, and de20 grading treatment of political dissidents, detain21 ees, and prisoners by security forces. 

22 (D) Harsh and life-threatening prison con23 ditions. 

24 (E) Arbitrary arrests and detentions. 

25 (F) The detaining of political prisoners. 


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1 (G) Significant problems with the inde2 pendence of the judiciary. 

3 (H) Arbitrary or unlawful interference 

4 with privacy. 

5 (I) Functional lack of freedom of the 

6 press, as criminal libel laws are used against 

7 persons who criticize leadership of the Govern8 ment of Cuba and that Government has en9 gaged in censorship and internet site blocking. 

10 (J) Severe limitations on academic and 

11 cultural freedom. 

12 (K) Severe restrictions on the right of 

13 peaceful assembly and denial of freedom of as14 sociation, including refusal to recognize inde15 pendent associations. 

16 (L) Severe restrictions on religious free17 dom. 

18 (M) Restrictions on internal and external 

19 freedom of movement. 

20 (N) Inability of citizens to change their 

21 government through free and fair elections. 

22 (O) Restrictions on political participation 

23 to members of the ruling party. 

24 (P) Corruption by officials of the Govern25 ment of Cuba. 


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1 (Q) Trafficking in persons, including com2 pulsory labor. 

3 (R) Outlawing of independent trade 

4 unions. 

5 (14) Officials of the Government of Cuba, at 

6 the direction of their superiors, have committed most 

7 human rights abuses. As a matter of policy, officials 

8 failed to investigate or prosecute the individuals who 

9 committed those abuses. Impunity for the perpetra10 tors has remained widespread. 

11 (15) The United States Commission on Inter12 national Religious Freedom recommended in its 

13 2021 Annual Report that the United States Govern14 ment again place Cuba on the special watch list 

15 under section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the International 

16 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

17 6442(b)(1)(A)(iii)) and recommended imposing sanc18 tions on the Office of Religious Affairs of Cuba. 

19 (16) In the report specified in paragraph (15), 

20 the United States Commission on International Reli21 gious Freedom raised concerns regarding the denial 

22 in Cuba of religious freedom for human rights activ23 ists, independent journalists, and protesters, particu24 larly in the wake of demonstrations that started on 


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1 November 13, 2020, calling for greater freedom of 

2 expression in Cuba. 

3 (17) Cuba was ground zero for a series of yet 

4 unexplained attacks in 2016 on members of the dip5 lomatic community of the United States in Havana, 

6 Cuba. 

7 (18) Cuba continues to provide safe harbor for 

8 adversaries of the United States, including multiple 

9 fugitives from justice in the United States, including 

10 William Morales, Charles Hill, Victor Manuel 

11 Gerena, and Joanne Chesimard, who executed New 

12 Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a rou13 tine traffic stop in May 1973. 

14 (19) The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 

15 Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) 

16 prohibits the President from imposing unilateral ag17 ricultural or medical sanctions against Cuba. 

18 (20) The defense, security, and intelligence sec19 tors of Cuba are the primary perpetrators of beat20 ings, arrests, detainments, and unjust 

21 imprisonments of the Cuban people. 

22 (21) The Cuban Communist Party has a long 

23 history of racism. 

24 (22) No high level positions within the Cuban 

25 Communist Party are occupied by Afro-Cubans. 


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1 (23) Many Cubans who suffered the worst 

2 treatment at the hands of the security forces of the 

3 Cuban Communist Party are Afro-Cuban, such as 

Dr. O ́ 4 scar Elı ́as Biscet, Jorge Luis Garcia Pe ́rez, 

5 Berta Soler of Las Damas de Blanco, Guillermo 

6 Farin ̃as Herna ́ndez, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Luis 

7 Manuel Otero Alca ́ntara, and Iva ́n Herna ́ndez 

8 Carrillo. 

9 (24) On January 12, 2021, the Department of 

10 State determined that Cuba has repeatedly provided 

11 support for acts of international terrorism and was 

12 designated a state sponsor of terrorism. 

13 (25) On May 14, 2021, Secretary of State 

14 Antony Blinken determined and certified to Con15 gress that Cuba is not cooperating fully with United 

16 States antiterrorism efforts. 

17 (26) The Cuban Communist Party continues to 

18 support international terrorist groups such as the 

19 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 

20 and the National Liberation Army (ELN). 

21 (27) Commercial engagement with the defense, 

22 security, and intelligence sectors of Cuba empowers 

23 the human rights abuses, racism against Afro-Cu24 bans, and support for international terrorism by the 

25 Cuban Communist Party. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that Congress— 

3 (1) reaffirms subsection (a) of section 1704 of 

4 the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 

5 6003), which states that the President should en6 courage foreign countries to restrict trade and credit 

7 relations with Cuba in a manner consistent with the 

8 purposes of that Act; and 

9 (2) urges the President to take immediate steps 

10 to apply the sanctions described in subsection (b)(1) 

11 of that section with respect to countries assisting 

12 Cuba. 

13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It shall be the policy of the United States— 

15 (1) to support the desire of the people of Cuba 

16 for freedom and democracy; and 

17 (2) to work with allies and the international 

18 community to seek to restrict and reduce the finan19 cial resources of the Cuban dictatorship, which sup20 ports terrorism and perpetrates injustice and human 

21 rights abuses against the Cuban people, that being 

22 the Cuban military, security, and intelligence sec23 tors. 


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1 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR2 EIGN PERSONS THAT ENGAGE IN CERTAIN 

3 TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO CUBA. 

4 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose 

6 the sanctions described in subsection (b) with re7 spect to a foreign person if the President determines 

8 that the foreign person, on or after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act, knowingly engages in an ac10 tivity described in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Except as pro12 vided in paragraph (3), a foreign person engages in 

13 an activity described in this paragraph if the foreign 

14 person provides financial, material, or technological 

15 support to, or engages in a transaction with— 

16 (A) a covered sector of the Government of 

17 Cuba, or any entity or individual affiliated with 

18 such sector (including an immediate adult fam19 ily member of such individual); 

20 (B) an agency, instrumentality, or other 

21 entity owned by an entity that is part of or as22 sociated with a covered sector, entity, or indi23 vidual described in subparagraph (A) in a per24 centage share exceeding 25 percent; 

25 (C) an individual who is a senior official of 

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1 graph (A) (including an immediate adult family 

2 member of such individual); 

3 (D) an agency, instrumentality, or other 

4 entity operated or controlled by a covered sec5 tor, entity, or individual described in subpara6 graph (A); 

7 (E) an entity or individual— 

8 (i) for the purpose of avoiding a fi9 nancial transaction with, or the transfer of 

10 funds to, an entity or individual specified 

11 in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); 

12 or 

13 (ii) for the benefit of an entity or indi14 vidual specified in any of subparagraphs 

15 (A) through (D); 

16 (F) a foreign person that is a military con17 tractor, mercenary, or a paramilitary force 

18 knowingly operating in a military, security, or 

19 intelligence capacity for or on behalf of the 

20 Government of Cuba; or 

21 (G) a foreign person subject to sanctions 

22 pursuant to the International Emergency Eco23 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or 

24 the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 

25 4301 et seq.) with respect to Cuba or any other 


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1 provision of law that imposes sanctions or other 

2 economic restrictions or limitations with respect 

3 to Cuba. 

4 (3) EXCEPTIONS.—The following activities en5 gaged in by a foreign person shall not be considered 

6 to be activities described in paragraph (2) for pur7 poses of imposing sanctions described in subsection 

8 (b) with respect to the person: 

9 (A) The sale of agricultural commodities, 

10 medicines, and medical devices sold to Cuba 

11 consistent with the Trade Sanctions Reform 

12 and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 

13 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.). 

14 (B) A remittance to an immediate family 

15 member, other than— 

16 (i) an individual who is a high-level 

17 member of the Cuban Communist Party; 

18 or 

19 (ii) an individual who is an immediate 

20 family member of an individual described 

21 in clause (i). 

22 (C) A payment in furtherance of the lease 

23 agreement for, or other financial transactions 

24 necessary for maintenance and improvements 

25 of, the military base at Guantanamo Bay, 


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1 Cuba, including any adjacent areas under the 

2 control or possession of the United States. 

3 (D) Assistance or support in furtherance 

4 of democracy-building efforts for Cuba de5 scribed in section 109 of the Cuban Liberty and 

6 Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 

7 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6039). 

8 (E) Customary and routine financial trans9 actions necessary for the maintenance, improve10 ments, or regular duties of the United States 

11 Embassy in Havana, Cuba, including outreach 

12 to the pro-democracy opposition. 

13 (F) Accessing the internet or providing cel14 lular services if the internet and cellular serv15 ices have been restored, are without interference 

16 from the Cuban regime, and do not include any 

17 technology, services, or communications backed 

18 by the Communist Party of the People’s Repub19 lic of China. 

20 (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

21 Congress that the President should, in making a de22 termination of whether a foreign person engages in 

23 an activity described in paragraph (2), consider the 

24 provision of loans, credits, or export credits by the 

25 person to be a form of significant financial, material, 


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1 or technological support as described in such para2 graph. 

3 (5) COVERED SECTOR DEFINED.—In this sub4 section, the term ‘‘covered sector’’ means— 

5 (A) the defense sector; 

6 (B) the security sector; 

7 (C) the intelligence sector; or 

8 (D) any other sector of the Government of 

9 Cuba beginning 15 days after the date on which 

10 the President certifies to Congress that such 

11 sector is involved in carrying out human rights 

12 abuses or providing support for international 

13 terrorism. 

14 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions to be imposed 

16 with respect to a foreign person subject to sub17 section (a) are the following: 

18 (A) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The Presi19 dent shall exercise all of the powers granted to 

20 the President under the International Emer21 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 

22 seq.) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 

23 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 

24 block and prohibit all transactions in property 

25 and interests in property of the foreign person 


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1 if such property and interests in property are in 

2 the United States, come within the United 

3 States, or are or come within the possession or 

4 control of a United States person. 

5 (B) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, AD6 MISSION, OR PAROLE.— 

7 (i) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.— 

8 An alien who the Secretary of State or the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security (or a des10 ignee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or 

11 has reason to believe, has knowingly en12 gaged in any activity described in sub13 section (a)(2) is— 

14 (I) inadmissible to the United 

15 States; 

16 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 

17 other documentation to enter the 

18 United States; and 

19 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 

20 admitted or paroled into the United 

21 States or to receive any other benefit 

22 under the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

24 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 


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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—The issuing 

2 consular officer, the Secretary of 

3 State, or the Secretary of Homeland 

4 Security (or a designee of one of such 

5 Secretaries) shall, in accordance with 

6 section 221(i) of the Immigration and 

7 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 

8 revoke any visa or other entry docu9 mentation issued to an alien described 

10 in clause (i) regardless of when the 

11 visa or other entry documentation is 

12 issued. 

13 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 

14 A revocation under subclause (I)— 

15 (aa) shall take effect imme16 diately; and 

17 (bb) shall automatically can18 cel any other valid visa or entry 

19 documentation that is in the 

20 alien’s possession. 

21 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

22 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter23 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

24 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 

25 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 


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1 violation of any regulation, license, or order issued 

2 to carry out paragraph (1)(A) to the same extent 

3 that such penalties apply to a person that commits 

4 an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that 

5 section. 

6 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER7 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under para8 graph (1)(B) shall not apply with respect to an alien 

9 if admitting or paroling the alien into the United 

10 States is necessary to permit the United States to 

11 comply with the Agreement regarding the Head12 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc13 cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force Novem14 ber 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 

15 United States, or other applicable international obli16 gations. 

17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall exercise 

18 all authorities under sections 203 and 205 of the Inter19 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

20 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section, except that the 

21 President— 

22 (1) shall not issue any general license author23 izing, or otherwise authorize, any activity subject to 

24 sanctions under subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) shall require any United States person seek2 ing to engage in a financial transaction or transfer 

3 of funds subject to sanctions under subsection (a) to 

4 submit a written request to the Office of Foreign 

5 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury. 

6 (d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica7 tion of sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 

8 to a foreign person for a period of 180 days (and such 

9 waiver may not be renewed) if the President determines 

10 and certifies to Congress that such waiver is in the vital 

11 national security interest of the United States. 

12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

14 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

15 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

17 (2) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part18 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora19 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

20 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per21 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

22 person. 

23 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in24 dividual or entity. 


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1 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

2 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

3 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law4 fully admitted to the United States for perma5 nent residence; 

6 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

7 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

8 United States (including any foreign branch of 

9 such an entity); and 

10 (C) any person in the United States. 

11 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

12 HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE AND CORRUPTION IN 

13 CUBA. 

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

15 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to the 

16 following persons: 

17 (1) Any foreign person determined by the Sec18 retary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of State and the Attorney General— 

20 (A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or 

21 to have directly or indirectly engaged in, serious 

22 human rights abuse in Cuba; 

23 (B) to be a current or former official of 

24 the Government of Cuba, or a person acting for 

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1 sible for or complicit in, or has directly or indi2 rectly engaged in— 

3 (i) corruption, including the misappro4 priation of state assets, the expropriation 

5 of private assets for personal gain, corrup6 tion related to government contracts or the 

7 extraction of natural resources, or bribery; 

8 or 

9 (ii) the transfer or the facilitation of 

10 the transfer of the proceeds of corruption; 

11 (C) to be or have been a leader or official 

12 of— 

13 (i) an entity, including a government 

14 entity, that has engaged in, or whose mem15 bers have engaged in, any of the activities 

16 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) re17 lating to the tenure of the leader or offi18 cial; or 

19 (ii) an entity whose property and in20 terests in property are blocked under sub21 section (b)(1) as a result of activities re22 lated to the tenure of the leader or official; 

23 (D) to have materially assisted, sponsored, 

24 or provided financial, material, or technological 


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1 support for, or goods or services to or in sup2 port of— 

3 (i) any activity described in subpara4 graph (A) or (B) that is conducted by a 

5 foreign person; 

6 (ii) any person whose property and in7 terests in property are blocked under sub8 section (b)(1); or 

9 (iii) any entity, including a govern10 ment entity, that has engaged in, or whose 

11 members have engaged in, any of the ac12 tivities described in subparagraph (A) or 

13 (B) of paragraph (1), if the activity is con14 ducted by a foreign person; 

15 (E) to have received any contribution or 

16 provision of funds, goods, or services from any 

17 person whose property and interests in property 

18 are blocked under subsection (b)(1); 

19 (F) to be owned or controlled by, or to 

20 have acted or purported to act for or on behalf 

21 of, directly or indirectly, any person whose 

22 property and interests in property are blocked 

23 under subsection (b)(1); 


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1 (G) to be under the control of, or to act for 

2 or on behalf of, the military, intelligence, or se3 curity services or personnel of Cuba; 

4 (H) to be an official of the Government of 

5 Cuba who works with the Ministry of Justice or 

6 the Office of the Attorney General and who vio7 lates due process rights of an individual in 

8 Cuba; or 

9 (I) to have attempted to engage in any of 

10 the activities described in subparagraph (A) or 

11 (B). 

12 (2) Members of the Communist Party of Cuba, 

13 including— 

14 (A) members of the Politburo; 

15 (B) members, department heads, and em16 ployees of the Central Committee; 

17 (C) secretaries and first secretaries of the 

18 provincial party central committees; and 

19 (D) members of the Office of Religious Af20 fairs. 

21 (3) Members of the Council of State. 

22 (4) Members of the Council of Ministers. 

23 (5) Members of the Committees for the Defense 

24 of the Revolution. 

25 (6) The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba. 


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1 (7) The Ministry of the Interior of Cuba, in2 cluding the National Revolutionary Police Force. 

3 (8) The Office of the President of Cuba. 

4 (9) The spouse and children of any individual 

5 subject to sanctions under this section. 

6 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions to be imposed 

8 with respect to a foreign person subject to sub9 section (a) are the following: 

10 (A) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The Presi11 dent shall exercise all of the powers granted to 

12 the President under the International Emer13 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 

14 seq.) to the extent necessary to block and pro15 hibit all transactions in property and interests 

16 in property of the foreign person if such prop17 erty and interests in property are in the United 

18 States, come within the United States, or are or 

19 come within the possession or control of a 

20 United States person. 

21 (B) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, AD22 MISSION, OR PAROLE.— 

23 (i) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.— 

24 An alien who the Secretary of State or the 

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1 ignee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or 

2 has reason to believe, is a foreign person 

3 subject to subsection (a) is— 

4 (I) inadmissible to the United 

5 States; 

6 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 

7 other documentation to enter the 

8 United States; and 

9 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 

10 admitted or paroled into the United 

11 States or to receive any other benefit 

12 under the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

14 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

15 (I) IN GENERAL.—The issuing 

16 consular officer, the Secretary of 

17 State, or the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security (or a designee of one of such 

19 Secretaries) shall, in accordance with 

20 section 221(i) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 

22 revoke any visa or other entry docu23 mentation issued to an alien described 

24 in clause (i) regardless of when the 


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1 visa or other entry documentation is 

2 issued. 

3 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 

4 A revocation under subclause (I)— 

5 (aa) shall take effect imme6 diately; and 

7 (bb) shall automatically can8 cel any other valid visa or entry 

9 documentation that is in the 

10 alien’s possession. 

11 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

12 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter13 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

14 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 

15 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

16 violation of any regulation, license, or order issued 

17 to carry out paragraph (1)(A) to the same extent 

18 that such penalties apply to a person that commits 

19 an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that 

20 section. 

21 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER22 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under para23 graph (1)(B) shall not apply with respect to an alien 

24 if admitting or paroling the alien into the United 

25 States is necessary to permit the United States to 


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1 comply with the Agreement regarding the Head2 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc3 cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force Novem4 ber 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 

5 United States, or other applicable international obli6 gations. 

7 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall exercise 

8 all authorities under sections 203 and 205 of the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

10 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section, except that the 

11 President— 

12 (1) shall not issue any general license author13 izing, or otherwise authorize, any activity subject to 

14 sanctions under subsection (a); and 

15 (2) shall require any United States person seek16 ing to engage in a financial transaction or transfer 

17 of funds subject to sanctions under subsection (a) to 

18 submit a written request to the Office of Foreign 

19 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury. 

20 (d) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—The President 

21 may not impose sanctions under this section with respect 

22 to any person for— 

23 (1) donating food or agricultural commodities 

24 to— 


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1 (A) an independent, nongovernmental or2 ganization not controlled by the Government of 

3 Cuba; or 

4 (B) individuals in Cuba who are not high5 level members of the Communist Party of Cuba 

6 or the immediate family member of any such 

7 individual; or 

8 (2) exporting medicines or medical supplies, in9 struments, or equipment that would be permitted 

10 under section 1705(c) of the Cuban Democracy Act 

11 of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004(c)). 

12 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica13 tion of sanctions under this section with respect to a per14 son if the President determines that such a waiver is in 

15 the national security interests of the United States. 

16 (f) NO PRIOR NOTICE.—The President, the Sec17 retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, and the 

18 Attorney General, and any other official of the United 

19 States Government are not required to provide any prior 

20 notice of a determination made under subsection (a) or 

21 of any other determination to impose sanctions under this 

22 section. 

23 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

25 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 


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1 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

2 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

3 (2) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part4 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora5 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

6 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per7 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

8 person. 

9 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in10 dividual or entity. 

11 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

12 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

13 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law14 fully admitted to the United States for perma15 nent residence; 

16 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

17 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

18 United States (including any foreign branch of 

19 such an entity); and 

20 (C) any person in the United States. 

21 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The authority to impose sanctions 

23 under sections 4 and 5 shall terminate if— 


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1 (1) the President submits to Congress a deter2 mination and certification that the Government of 

3 Cuba— 

4 (A) has legalized all political activity; 

5 (B) has released all political prisoners and 

6 allowed for investigations of Cuban prisons by 

7 appropriate international human rights organi8 zations; 

9 (C) has dissolved the Department of State 

10 Security in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior 

11 in place as of the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act, including the Committees for the Defense 

13 of the Revolution and the Rapid Response Bri14 gades; 

15 (D) has made public commitments to orga16 nizing free and fair elections for a new govern17 ment— 

18 (i) to be held in a timely manner with19 in a period not to exceed 18 months after 

20 such certification; 

21 (ii) with the participation of multiple 

22 independent political parties that have full 

23 access to the media on an equal basis, in24 cluding (in the case of radio, television, or 

25 other telecommunications media) in terms 


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1 of allotments of time for such access and 

2 the times of day such allotments are given; 

3 and 

4 (iii) to be conducted under the super5 vision of internationally recognized observ6 ers, such as the Organization of American 

7 States, the United Nations, and other elec8 tion monitors; 

9 (E) has ceased any interference with Radio 

10 Marti or Television Marti broadcasts; 

11 (F) has made public commitments to and 

12 is making demonstrable progress in— 

13 (i) establishing an independent judici14 ary; 

15 (ii) respecting internationally recog16 nized human rights and basic freedoms as 

17 set forth in the Universal Declaration of 

18 Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signa19 tory nation; and 

20 (iii) allowing the establishment of 

21 independent trade unions as set forth in 

22 conventions 87 and 98 of the International 

23 Labor Organization, and allowing the es24 tablishment of independent social, eco25 nomic, and political associations; 


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1 (G) does not include Raul Castro or his 

2 immediate family; 

3 (H) has given adequate assurances that it 

4 will allow the speedy and efficient distribution 

5 of assistance to the people of Cuba; 

6 (I) is demonstrably in transition from a 

7 communist totalitarian dictatorship to a rep8 resentative democracy; 

9 (J) has made public commitments to and 

10 is making demonstrable progress in— 

11 (i) effectively guaranteeing the rights 

12 of free speech and freedom of the press, in13 cluding granting permits to privately 

14 owned media and telecommunications com15 panies to operate in Cuba; 

16 (ii) permitting the reinstatement of 

17 citizenship to Cuban-born persons return18 ing to Cuba; 

19 (iii) assuring the right to private 

20 property; and 

21 (iv) taking appropriate steps to return 

22 to United States citizens, and entities that 

23 are 50 percent or more beneficially owned 

24 by United States citizens, property taken 

25 by the Government of Cuba from such citiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Mar 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S504.IS S504

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1 zens and entities on or after January 1, 

2 1959, or to provide equitable compensation 

3 to such citizens and entities for such prop4 erty; 

5 (K) has extradited or otherwise rendered 

6 to the United States all persons sought by the 

7 Department of Justice of the United States for 

8 crimes committed in the United States; and 

9 (L) has permitted the deployment through10 out Cuba of independent and unfettered inter11 national human rights monitors; and 

12 (2) a joint resolution approving the determina13 tion and certification of the President submitted 

14 under paragraph (1) is enacted into law in accord15 ance with the procedures described in subsection (b). 

16 (b) CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES.— 

17 (1) REFERRAL TO COMMITTEES.—Joint resolu18 tions described in subsection (a)(2) that are intro19 duced in the House of Representatives shall be re20 ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

21 joint resolutions described in subsection (a)(2) that 

22 are introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the 

23 Committee on Foreign Relations. 

24 (2) PROCEDURES.— 


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1 (A) SENATE.—Any joint resolution de2 scribed in subsection (a)(2) shall be considered 

3 in the Senate in accordance with the provisions 

4 of section 601(b) of the International Security 

5 Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 

6 1976 (Public Law 94–329; 90 Stat. 765). 

7 (B) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—For 

8 the purpose of expediting the consideration and 

9 enactment of a joint resolution described in 

10 subsection (a)(2), a motion to proceed to the 

11 consideration of any such joint resolution after 

12 it has been reported by the appropriate com13 mittee shall be treated as highly privileged in 

14 the House of Representatives. 

15 (C) LIMITATION.—Not more than one joint 

16 resolution described in subsection (a)(2) may be 

17 considered in the House of Representatives and 

18 the Senate during the 6-month period beginning 

19 on the date on which the President submits to 

20 Congress a determination and certification 

21 under subsection (a)(1). 

22 SEC. 7. PROVISION OF UNRESTRICTED INTERNET SERVICE 

23 FOR THE PEOPLE OF CUBA. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective immediately upon the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall use 


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1 all means possible to provide unrestricted, reliable internet 

2 service to the people of Cuba that is not censored, blocked, 

3 or otherwise restricted by the Government of Cuba and 

4 does not include any technology, services, or communica5 tions backed by the Communist Party of the People’s Re6 public of China. 

7 (b) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall notify the 

8 appropriate committees of Congress once an internet con9 nection has been established to provide unrestricted, reli10 able internet service under subsection (a). 

11 (c) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 President shall establish an interagency task force to 

15 develop a long-term solution for providing reliable 

16 internet service to the people of Cuba that is not 

17 censored or blocked by the Government of Cuba. 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the inter20 agency task force established under paragraph (1) 

21 shall submit to the President and the appropriate 

22 committees of Congress a report that outlines the 

23 best long-term solutions of the interagency task 

24 force for providing reliable internet service to the 


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1 people of Cuba that is not censored, blocked, or oth2 erwise restricted by the Government of Cuba. 

3 (d) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—In 

4 this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

7 Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 

8 Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence 

9 of the Senate; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security, the 

11 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent 

12 Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 

13 Representatives. 

Æ 


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