II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2265 

To promote democracy and the rule of law in Nicaragua, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 21, 2017 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To promote democracy and the rule of law in Nicaragua, 

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 ‘‘Nicaraguan Invest5 ment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives convened a congressional 

10 hearing on December 1, 2011, entitled ‘‘Democracy 


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1 Held Hostage in Nicaragua: Part 1’’ where former 

2 United States Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert Cal3 lahan testified ‘‘[f]irst, that Daniel Ortega’s can4 didacy was illegal, illegitimate, and unconstitutional; 

5 second, that the period leading to the elections and 

6 the elections themselves were marred by serious 

7 fraud; third, that Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista 

8 party have systematically undermined the country’s 

9 fragile governmental institutions’’. 

10 (2) According to the Organization of American 

11 States (OAS) report on the 2011 Presidential elec12 tions in Nicaragua, the OAS recommended that the 

13 Government of Nicaragua take a number of steps to 

14 improve its electoral system, including accrediting 

15 poll watchers to ensure political parties and civil so16 ciety are represented to observe elections, and rede17 signing the structure of the Nicaraguan electoral 

18 council to allow proper registration of the electorate. 

19 (3) On January 25, 2012, a press statement 

20 from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, ‘‘As 

21 noted by international observers and Nicaraguan 

22 civil society groups, Nicaragua’s recent elections 

23 were not conducted in a transparent and impartial 

24 manner, and the entire electoral process was marred 

25 by significant irregularities. The elections marked a 


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1 setback to democracy in Nicaragua and undermined 

2 the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government 

3 accountable.’’. 

4 (4) According to the Department of State’s 

5 2015 Fiscal Transparency Report: ‘‘Nicaragua’s fis6 cal transparency would be improved by including all 

7 off-budget revenue and expenditure in the budget, 

8 auditing state-owned enterprises, and conducting a 

9 full audit of the government’s annual financial state10 ments and making audit reports publicly available 

11 within a reasonable period of time.’’. 

12 (5) According to the Department of State’s 

13 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

14 2015 in Nicaragua: ‘‘In 2011 the Supreme Electoral 

15 Council (CSE) announced the re-election of Presi16 dent Daniel Ortega Saavedra of the Sandinista Na17 tional Liberation Front (FSLN) in elections that 

18 international and domestic observers characterized 

19 as seriously flawed. International and domestic orga20 nizations raised concerns regarding the constitu21 tional legitimacy of Ortega’s re-election. The 2011 

22 elections also provided the ruling party with a super23 majority in the National Assembly, allowing for 

24 changes in the constitution, including extending the 

25 reach of executive branch power and the elimination 


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1 of restrictions on re-election for executive branch of2 ficials and mayors. Observers noted serious flaws 

3 during the 2012 municipal elections and March 

4 2014 regional elections.’’. 

5 (6) According to the Department of State’s 

6 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

7 2015 in Nicaragua: ‘‘The principal human rights 

8 abuses were restrictions on citizens’ right to vote; 

9 obstacles to freedom of speech and press, including 

10 government intimidation and harassment of journal11 ists and independent media, as well as increased re12 striction of access to public information, including 

13 national statistics from public offices; and increased 

14 government harassment and intimidation of non15 governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society 

16 organizations’’. 

17 (7) The same 2015 report stated: ‘‘Additional 

18 significant human rights abuses included consider19 ably biased policies to promote single-party domi20 nance; arbitrary police arrest and detention of sus21 pects, including abuse during detention; harsh and 

22 life-threatening prison conditions with arbitrary and 

23 lengthy pretrial detention; discrimination against 

24 ethnic minorities and indigenous persons and com25 munities.’’. 


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1 (8) On June 7, 2016, the Department of 

2 State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and 

3 Labor posted on social media: ‘‘Disappointed govern4 ment of Nicaragua said it will deny electoral observ5 ers requested by Nicaraguan citizens, church, and 

6 private sector . . . We continue to encourage the 

7 government of Nicaragua to allow electoral observers 

8 as requested by Nicaraguans.’’. 

9 (9) On August 1, 2016, the Department of 

10 State issued a press release expressing grave concern 

11 with the Government of Nicaragua limiting demo12 cratic space leading up to the elections in November 

13 and stated, ‘‘[O]n June 8, the Nicaraguan Supreme 

14 Court stripped the opposition Independent Liberal 

15 Party (PLI) from its long recognized leader. The 

16 Supreme Court took similar action on June 17 when 

17 it invalidated the leadership of the Citizen Action 

18 Party, the only remaining opposition party with the 

19 legal standing to present a presidential candidate. 

20 Most recently, on July 29, the Supreme Electoral 

21 Council removed 28 PLI national assembly members 

22 (16 seated and 12 alternates) from their popularly23 elected positions.’’. 

24 (10) On November 7, 2016, the Department of 

25 State issued a press release stating, ‘‘The United 


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1 States is deeply concerned by the flawed presidential 

2 and legislative electoral process in Nicaragua, which 

3 precluded the possibility of a free and fair election 

4 on November 6. In advance of the elections, the Nic5 araguan government sidelined opposition candidates 

6 for president, limited domestic observation at the 

7 polls and access to voting credentials, and took other 

8 actions to deny democratic space in the process. The 

9 decision by the Nicaraguan government not to invite 

10 independent international electoral observers further 

11 degraded the legitimacy of the election.’’. 

12 (11) In November and December of 2016, the 

13 Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American 

14 Development Bank postponed consideration of a pol15 icy-based loan of $65,000,000 to the Government of 

16 Nicaragua due to the serious concerns of the United 

17 States mission with the absence of transparency, 

18 systemic corruption, and the lack of free and fair 

19 elections in Nicaragua. 

20 (12) According to the Department of State’s 

21 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

22 2016 in Nicaragua: ‘‘actions by the ruling Sandi23 nista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party re24 sulted in de facto concentration of power in a single 

25 party, with an authoritarian executive branch exerVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Dec 22, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2265.IS S2265

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1 cising significant control over the legislative, judicial, 

2 and electoral functions.’’. 

3 (13) According to the Department of State’s 

4 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

5 2016 in Nicaragua: ‘‘The November 6 elections for 

6 president, vice president, national assembly mem7 bers, and representatives for the Central American 

8 parliament did not meet the conditions of being free 

9 and fair . . . The November 6 presidential and leg10 islative elections were marred by allegations of insti11 tutional fraud and the absence of independent oppo12 sition political parties. National observers and oppo13 sition leaders claimed rates of abstention from 60 to 

14 70 percent.’’. 

15 (14) According to the Department of State’s 

16 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

17 2016 in Nicaragua: ‘‘Companies reported that brib18 ery of public officials, unlawful seizures, and arbi19 trary assessments by customs and tax authorities 

20 were common . . . The courts remained particularly 

21 susceptible to bribes, manipulation, and other forms 

22 of corruption, especially by the FSLN, giving the 

23 sense that the FSLN heavily influenced CSJ and 

24 lower-level court actions.’’. 


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1 (15) On December 21, 2017, the Department of 

2 the Treasury issued a press release announcing the 

3 designation of, and sanctions against, human rights 

4 abusers and corrupt actors, including Roberto Rivas, 

5 the President of Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral 

6 Council, pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human 

7 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

8 Public Law 114–328). The press release states, in 

9 part: ‘‘As President of Nicaragua’s Supreme Elec10 toral Council, drawing a reported government salary 

11 of $60,000 per year, Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes 

12 (Rivas) has been accused in the press of amassing 

13 sizeable personal wealth, including multiple prop14 erties, private jets, luxury vehicles, and a yacht. 

15 Rivas has been described by a Nicaraguan Comp16 troller General as ‘above the law’, with investigations 

17 into his corruption having been blocked by Nica18 raguan government officials. He has also perpetrated 

19 electoral fraud undermining Nicaragua’s electoral in20 stitutions.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

22 It is the policy of the United States to support— 

23 (1) the rule of law and an independent judiciary 

24 and electoral council in Nicaragua; 


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1 (2) independent pro-democracy organizations in 

2 Nicaragua; 

3 (3) free and fair elections overseen by credible 

4 domestic and international observers in Nicaragua; 

5 and 

6 (4) anti-corruption and transparency efforts in 

7 Nicaragua. 

8 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall instruct the 

10 United States Executive Director at each international fi11 nancial institution to use the voice and vote of the United 

12 States to oppose any loan for budget support for the Gov13 ernment of Nicaragua, other than to address basic human 

14 needs or to promote democracy, unless, in the preceding 

15 12 months, the Secretary of State has certified and re16 ported to the appropriate congressional committees that 

17 the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps— 

18 (1) to hold free and fair elections overseen by 

19 credible domestic and international electoral observ20 ers; 

21 (2) to promote democracy, as well as an inde22 pendent judicial system and electoral council; 

23 (3) to strengthen the rule of law; 

24 (4) to respect the right to freedom of expression 

25 and association; 


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1 (5) to combat corruption, including inves2 tigating and prosecuting government officials 

3 credibly alleged to be corrupt; 

4 (6) to protect the right of political opposition 

5 parties, journalists, trade unionists, human rights 

6 defenders, and other civil society activists to operate 

7 without interference; and 

8 (7) to protect the rights of indigenous people. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 

11 shall submit, to the appropriate congressional committees, 

12 a written report assessing— 

13 (1) the effectiveness of the international finan14 cial institutions in enforcing applicable program 

15 safeguards in Nicaragua; and 

16 (2) the impact of the matters described in sec17 tion 2 on long-term prospects for positive develop18 ment outcomes in Nicaragua. 

19 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY OF

20 STATE.—The Secretary of State shall annually submit, to 

21 the appropriate congressional committees, a report on 

22 whether the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective 

23 steps with respect to the matters set forth in subsection 

24 (a), and if the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective 


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1 steps with respect to all such matters, shall certify such 

2 to the appropriate congressional committees. 

3 (d) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 

4 the day after the earlier of— 

5 (1) the date on which the Secretary of State 

6 certifies and reports to the appropriate congressional 

7 committees that the requirements under subsection 

8 (a) have been met; or 

9 (2) 5 years after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act. 

11 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require12 ments under this section if the President determines that 

13 such a waiver is in the national interest of the United 

14 States. 

15 SEC. 5. REPORT ON CORRUPTION AND MONEY LAUN16 DERING IN NICARAGUA. 

17 (a) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 of State, in consultation with the intelligence community 

20 (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act 

21 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), shall submit, to the appro22 priate congressional committees, a report on the involve23 ment of senior Government of Nicaragua officials, includ24 ing members of the Supreme Electoral Council, the Na25 tional Assembly, and the judicial system, in acts of public 


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1 corruption, money laundering, or human rights violations 

2 in Nicaragua. 

3 (b) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

4 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

5 a classified annex. The unclassified portion of the report 

6 shall be made available to the public. 

7 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF CERTAIN REGIMES IN 

8 NICARAGUA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

11 acting through the Bureau of Intelligence and Research 

12 of the Department of State and in consultation with the 

13 intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the 

14 National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), shall 

15 submit, to the appropriate congressional committees, a re16 port that describes the extent of cooperation by the Gov17 ernments of the Russian Federation and the Bolivarian 

18 Republic of Venezuela (including Petroleos de Venezuela, 

19 S.A. (PDVSA)) with the Government of Nicaragua and 

20 the Nicaraguan armed forces and security personnel. 

21 (b) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

22 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

23 a classified annex. The unclassified portion of the report 

24 shall be made available to the public. 


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1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

11 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

12 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives; 

14 (E) the Committee on Appropriations of 

15 the House of Representatives; and 

16 (F) the Committee on Financial Services 

17 of the House of Representatives. 

18 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU19 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu20 tion’’ includes— 

21 (A) the International Monetary Fund; 

22 (B) the International Bank for Recon23 struction and Development; 

24 (C) the International Development Asso25 ciation; 

26 (D) the International Finance Corporation; 


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1 (E) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee 

2 Agency; 

3 (F) the Inter-American Development 

4 Bank; and 

5 (G) the Inter-American Investment Cor6 poration. 

Æ 


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