In the Senate of the United States, 

November 27, 2018. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1918) entitled ‘‘An Act to oppose loans at international financial institutions for the Government of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective 

steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for 

other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 

following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Nicaragua Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 

4 2018’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress on advancing a negotiated solution to Nicaragua’s crisis. 

Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 4. Restrictions on international financial institutions relating to Nicaragua. 

Sec. 5. Imposition of targeted sanctions with respect to Nicaragua. 
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Sec. 6. Annual certification and waiver. 

Sec. 7. Report on human rights violations and corruption in Nicaragua. 

Sec. 8. Civil society engagement strategy. 

Sec. 9. Reform of Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission. 

Sec. 10. Termination. 

Sec. 11. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ADVANCING A NEGO2 TIATED SOLUTION TO NICARAGUA’S CRISIS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) credible negotiations between the Government 

5 of Nicaragua and representatives of Nicaragua’s civil 

6 society, student movement, private sector, and polit7 ical opposition, mediated by the Catholic Church in 

8 Nicaragua, represent the best opportunity to reach a 

9 peaceful solution to the current political crisis that 

10 includes— 

11 (A) a commitment to hold early elections 

12 that meet democratic standards and permit cred13 ible international electoral observation; 

14 (B) the cessation of the violence perpetrated 

15 against civilians by the National Police of Nica16 ragua and by armed groups supported by the 

17 Government of Nicaragua; and 

18 (C) independent investigations into the 

19 killings of protesters; and 

20 (2) negotiations between the Government of Nica21 ragua and representatives of Nicaragua’s civil society, 

22 student movement, private sector, and political oppo-
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1 sition, mediated by the Catholic Church in Nica2 ragua, have not resulted in an agreement as of the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act because the Govern4 ment of Nicaragua has failed to credibly participate 

5 in the process. 

6 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

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

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

9 and electoral council in Nicaragua; 

10 (2) democratic governance in Nicaragua; 

11 (3) free and fair elections overseen by credible 

12 domestic and international observers in Nicaragua; 

13 and 

14 (4) anti-corruption and transparency efforts in 

15 Nicaragua. 

16 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL IN17 STITUTIONS RELATING TO NICARAGUA. 

18 (a) RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

19 shall— 

20 (1) instruct the United States Executive Director 

21 at each international financial institution of the 

22 World Bank Group to use the voice, vote, and influ23 ence of the United States to oppose the extension by 

24 the International Finance Corporation of any loan or 
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1 financial or technical assistance to the Government of 

2 Nicaragua for a project in Nicaragua; 

3 (2) instruct the United States Executive Director 

4 of the Inter-American Development Bank to use the 

5 voice, vote, and influence of the United States to op6 pose the extension by the Bank of any loan or finan7 cial or technical assistance to the Government of 

8 Nicaragua for a project in Nicaragua; and 

9 (3) instruct the United States Executive Director 

10 of each other international financial institution, in11 cluding the International Monetary Fund, to work 

12 with other key donor countries to develop a coherent 

13 policy approach to future engagements with and lend14 ing to the Government of Nicaragua, in a manner 

15 that will advance human rights, including the full 

16 restoration of the rights guaranteed to the people of 

17 Nicaragua through the commitments made by the 

18 Government of Nicaragua as a signatory of the Inter19 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

20 (b) EXCEPTIONS FOR BASIC HUMAN NEEDS AND DE21 MOCRACY PROMOTION.—The restrictions under paragraphs 

22 (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not apply with respect 

23 to any loan or financial or technical assistance provided 

24 to address basic human needs or to promote democracy in 

25 Nicaragua. 
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1 (c) BRIEFING BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS2 URY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 

4 the Treasury shall brief the appropriate congressional com5 mittees on the effectiveness of international financial insti6 tutions in enforcing applicable program safeguards in 

7 Nicaragua. 

8 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF TARGETED SANCTIONS WITH RE9 SPECT TO NICARAGUA. 

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

11 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to any 

12 foreign person, including any current or former official of 

13 the Government of Nicaragua or any person acting on be14 half of that Government, that the President determines— 

15 (1) to be responsible for or complicit in, or re16 sponsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise direct17 ing, or to have knowingly participated in, directly or 

18 indirectly, any activity described in subsection (b); 

19 (2) to be a leader of— 

20 (A) an entity that has, or whose members 

21 have, engaged in any activity described in sub22 section (b); or 

23 (B) an entity whose property and interests 

24 in property are blocked under subsection 
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1 (c)(1)(A) as a result of activities related to the 

2 tenure of the leader; 

3 (3) to have knowingly materially assisted, spon4 sored, or provided financial, material, or techno5 logical support for, or goods or services in support 

6 of— 

7 (A) an activity described in subsection (b); 

8 or 

9 (B) a person whose property and interests 

10 in property are blocked under subsection 

11 (c)(1)(A); or 

12 (4) to be owned or controlled by, or to have 

13 knowingly acted or purported to act for or on behalf 

14 of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property 

15 and interests in property are blocked under subsection 

16 (c)(1)(A). 

17 (b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—An activity described in 

18 this subsection is any of the following in or in relation to 

19 Nicaragua on or after April 18, 2018: 

20 (1) Significant acts of violence or conduct that 

21 constitutes a serious abuse or violation of human 

22 rights against persons associated with the protests in 

23 Nicaragua that began on April 18, 2018. 

24 (2) Significant actions or policies that under25 mine democratic processes or institutions. 
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1 (3) Acts of significant corruption by or on behalf 

2 of the Government of Nicaragua or a current or 

3 former official of the Government of Nicaragua, in4 cluding— 

5 (A) the expropriation of private or public 

6 assets for personal gain or political purposes; 

7 (B) corruption related to government con8 tracts; 

9 (C) bribery; or 

10 (D) the facilitation or transfer of the pro11 ceeds of corruption. 

12 (4) The arrest or prosecution of a person, includ13 ing an individual or media outlet disseminating in14 formation to the public, primarily because of the le15 gitimate exercise by such person of the freedom of 

16 speech, assembly, or the press. 

17 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 

19 this subsection are the following: 

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

21 powers granted to the President by the Inter22 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

23 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 

24 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop25 erty and interests in property of a person deter-
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1 mined by the President to be subject to subsection 

2 (a) if such property and interests in property 

3 are in the United States, come within the United 

4 States, or are or come within the possession or 

5 control of a United States person. 

6 (B) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES

7 AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER DOCU8 MENTATION.—In the case of an alien determined 

9 by the President to be subject to subsection (a), 

10 denial of a visa to, and exclusion from the 

11 United States of, the alien, and revocation in ac12 cordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any 

14 visa or other documentation of the alien. 

15 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at16 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a vio17 lation of a measure imposed pursuant to paragraph 

18 (1)(A) or any regulation, license, or order issued to 

19 carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the 

20 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 

21 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers 

22 Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person 

23 that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 

24 (a) of that section. 
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1 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

2 GOODS.—The requirement to block and prohibit all 

3 transactions in all property and interests in property 

4 under paragraph (1)(A) shall not include the author5 ity to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. 

6 (4) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA7 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

8 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to an alien 

9 if admitting the alien into the United States is nec10 essary to permit the United States to comply with the 

11 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

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

13 entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 

14 United Nations and the United States, or other appli15 cable international obligations. 

16 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 

17 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exer18 cise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 

19 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers 

20 Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this sec21 tion. 

22 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President 

23 shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as 

24 are necessary to carry out this section. 
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1 SEC. 6. ANNUAL CERTIFICATION AND WAIVER. 

2 (a) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

4 the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate con5 gressional committees a report certifying whether the Gov6 ernment of Nicaragua is taking effective steps— 

7 (1) to strengthen the rule of law and democratic 

8 governance, including the independence of the judicial 

9 system and electoral council; 

10 (2) to combat corruption, including by inves11 tigating and prosecuting cases of public corruption; 

12 (3) to protect civil and political rights, including 

13 the rights of freedom of the press, speech, and associa14 tion, for all people of Nicaragua, including political 

15 opposition parties, journalists, trade unionists, 

16 human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, and other 

17 civil society activists; 

18 (4) to investigate and hold accountable officials 

19 of the Government of Nicaragua and other persons re20 sponsible for the killings of individuals associated 

21 with the protests in Nicaragua that began on April 

22 18, 2018; and 

23 (5) to hold free and fair elections overseen by 

24 credible domestic and international observers 

25 (b) WAIVER.— 
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1 (1) TEMPORARY GENERAL WAIVER.—If the Sec2 retary certifies to the appropriate congressional com3 mittees under subsection (a) that the Government of 

4 Nicaragua is taking effective steps as described in 

5 that subsection, the President may waive the applica6 tion of the restrictions under section 4 and sanctions 

7 under section 5 for a period of not more than one 

8 year beginning on the date of the certification. 

9 (2) NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER.—The Presi10 dent may waive the application of the restrictions 

11 under section 4 and sanctions under section 5 if the 

12 President— 

13 (A) determines that such a waiver is in the 

14 national interest of the United States; and 

15 (B) submits to the appropriate congres16 sional committees a notice of and justification 

17 for the waiver. 

18 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

19 Congress that the President should exercise the waiver 

20 authority provided under paragraph (1) if the Sec21 retary of State certifies under subsection (a) that the 

22 Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps as 

23 described in that subsection. 
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1 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing a certification re2 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with 

3 the appropriate congressional committees. 

4 (d) ANNUAL BRIEFING.—The Secretary shall annually 

5 brief the appropriate congressional committees on whether 

6 the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps as de7 scribed in subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 7. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND COR9 RUPTION IN NICARAGUA. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

12 acting through the Assistant Secretary of State for Intel13 ligence and Research, and in coordination with the Sec14 retary of the Treasury and the Director of National Intel15 ligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com16 mittees a report on— 

17 (1) the involvement of senior officials of the Gov18 ernment of Nicaragua, including members of the Su19 preme Electoral Council, the National Assembly, and 

20 the judicial system, in human rights violations, acts 

21 of significant corruption, and money laundering; and 

22 (2) persons that transfer, or facilitate the trans23 fer of, goods or technologies for use in or with respect 

24 to Nicaragua, that are used by the Government of 
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1 Nicaragua to commit serious human rights violations 

2 against the people of Nicaragua. 

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

4 be classified. 

5 SEC. 8. CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY. 

6 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the appropriate 

8 congressional committees on a strategy— 

9 (1) for engaging relevant elements of civil society 

10 in Nicaragua, including independent media, human 

11 rights, and anti-corruption organizations, to strength12 en rule of law and increase accountability for human 

13 rights abuses and corruption in Nicaragua; and 

14 (2) setting forth measures to support the protec15 tion of human rights and anti-corruption advocates 

16 in Nicaragua. 

17 SEC. 9. REFORM OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY 

18 COMMISSION. 

19 Section 603(f)(1) of the Department of State Authori20 ties Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–323; 130 Stat. 

21 1938) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later than 60 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

23 hold an initial meeting to develop and implement’’ and in24 serting ‘‘At the initial meeting of the Commission, the Com25 mission shall develop and implement’’. 
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1 SEC. 10. TERMINATION. 

2 The provisions of this Act (other than section 9) shall 

3 terminate on December 31, 2023. 

4 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit8 tees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

10 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af11 fairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of 

12 the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

14 Committee on Financial Services, and the Com15 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep16 resentatives. 

17 (2) GOOD.—The term ‘‘good’’ means any article, 

18 natural or manmade substance, material, supply or 

19 manufactured product, including inspection and test 

20 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

21 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in22 dividual or entity. 

23 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term ‘‘United 

24 States person’’ means any United States citizen, per25 manent resident alien, entity organized under the 

26 laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within 
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1 the United States (including a foreign branch of such 

2 an entity), or any person in the United States. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 1918 

AMENDMENT