I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4229 

To seek international sanctions against the Government of Venezuela with 

respect to foreign persons responsible for or complicit in ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights 

abuses against citizens of Venezuela, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2014 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SALMON, 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. DESANTIS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. GARCIA, 

Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Ms. FRANKEL of Florida) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To seek international sanctions against the Government of 

Venezuela with respect to foreign persons responsible 

for or complicit in ordering, controlling, or otherwise 

directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses 

against citizens of Venezuela, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Venezuelan Liberty 

3 and Democratic Solidarity Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

10 the House of Representatives; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

12 the Senate. 

13 (2) SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘sensitive 

15 technology’’ means hardware, software, tele16 communications equipment, or any other tech17 nology that the President determines is to be 

18 used specifically to— 

19 (i) restrict the free flow of unbiased 

20 information; or 

21 (ii) disrupt, monitor, or otherwise re22 strict freedom of speech. 

23 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘sensitive 

24 technology’’ does not include information or in25 formational materials the exportation of which 


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1 the President does not have the authority to 

2 regulate. 

3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following— 

5 (1) On February 12, 2014, also known in Ven6 ezuela as the National Youth Day, students began 

7 protesting in several cities against Venezuelan leader 

8 Nicola ́s Maduro’s inability to stem violent crime, his 

9 undemocratic actions, and a rapidly deteriorating 

10 economy marked by high inflation and shortages of 

11 consumer goods. 

12 (2) On February 12, 2014, a judge issued an 

13 arrest warrant for Leopoldo Lo ́pez, leader of the op14 position party Voluntad Popular, for unfounded alle15 gations in connection with the student protests. 

16 (3) On February 17, 2014, the Government of 

17 Venezuela notified the United States Department of 

18 State that it had declared 3 consular officers at the 

19 United States Embassy in Venezuela personae non 

20 gratae. 

21 (4) On February 18, 2014, opposition leader 

22 Leopoldo Lo ́pez turned himself in to Venezuelan au23 thorities, was arrested, and unjustly charged with 

24 criminal incitement, conspiracy, arson, and intent to 

25 damage property. 


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1 (5) Leopoldo Lo ́pez is currently being held in a 

2 prison at a military facility. 

3 (6) Nongovernmental human rights organiza4 tions have alleged that the charges brought against 

5 Leopoldo Lo ́pez appear to be a politically motivated 

6 attempt to silence dissent in the country. 

7 (7) As of March 13, 2014, there have been 24 

8 people killed, over 100 injured, and many persons 

9 unjustly detained in relation to pro-democracy dem10 onstrations throughout Venezuela. 

11 (8) On February 19, 2014, President Obama 

12 criticized the Government of Venezuela for arresting 

13 protesters, called for their release, and urged the 

14 government to focus on the ‘‘legitimate grievances of 

15 the Venezuelan people’’. 

16 (9) According to the Department of State’s 

17 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

18 2013 for Venezuela, ‘‘The principal human rights 

19 abuses reported during the year included corruption, 

20 politicization in the judicial system, and government 

21 actions to impede freedom of expression and restrict 

22 freedom of the press. The government did not re23 spect judicial independence or permit judges to act 

24 according to the law without fear of retaliation. The 

25 government used the judiciary to intimidate and seVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:41 Mar 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4229.IH H4229

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1 lectively prosecute political, union, business, and civil 

2 society leaders who were critical of government poli3 cies or actions. The government harassed and intimi4 dated privately owned television stations, other 

5 media outlets, and journalists throughout the year, 

6 using threats, fines, property seizures, targeted reg7 ulations, arrests, and criminal investigations and 

8 prosecutions.’’. 

9 (10) According to the Department of State’s 

10 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 

11 2013 for Venezuela, ‘‘The following human rights 

12 problems were reported by NGOs, the media, and in 

13 some cases the government itself: unlawful killings, 

14 including summary killings by police elements; tor15 ture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treat16 ment; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions 

17 and lack of due process rights that contributed to 

18 widespread violence, riots, injuries, and deaths in 

19 prisons; inadequate juvenile detention centers; arbi20 trary arrests and detentions; corruption and impu21 nity in police forces; political prisoners; interference 

22 with privacy rights; corruption at all levels of gov23 ernment; threats against domestic NGOs; violence 

24 against women; anti-Semitism in the official media; 

25 trafficking in persons; violence based on sexual oriVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:41 Mar 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4229.IH H4229

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1 entation and gender identity; and restrictions on 

2 workers’ right of association.’’. 

3 (11) According to Freedom House’s Freedom in 

4 the World report of 2013 on Venezuela, ‘‘Nicola ́s 

5 Maduro, further weakened the independent media, 

6 reduced the opposition’s ability to serve as a check 

7 on government policy, and made threats to civil soci8 ety groups.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. ACTIONS AT THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN 

10 STATES. 

11 The Secretary of State shall direct the United States 

12 Permanent Representative to the Organization of Amer13 ican States to use the voice, vote, and influence of the 

14 United States at the Organization of American States to 

15 defend and protect the Inter-American Democratic Char16 ter, and strengthen the independent Inter-American Com17 mission on Human Rights to advance the protection of 

18 human rights throughout the Western Hemisphere, espe19 cially in Venezuela. 


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1 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS 

2 WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT 

3 IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED 

4 AGAINST CITIZENS OF VENEZUELA OR THEIR 

5 FAMILY MEMBERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc7 tions described in subsection (c) with respect to each per8 son on the list required by subsection (b). 

9 (b) LIST OF PERSONS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

10 OR COMPLICIT IN CERTAIN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

13 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees a list of persons who are officials of the Gov15 ernment of Venezuela or persons acting on behalf of 

16 the Government of Venezuela, who the President de17 termines, based on credible evidence, are responsible 

18 for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, con19 trolling, or otherwise directing, the commission of 

20 serious human rights abuses against citizens of Ven21 ezuela or their family members. 

22 (2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

23 transmit to the appropriate congressional commit24 tees an updated list under paragraph (1)— 

25 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

26 of the enactment of this Act; and 


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1 (B) as new information becomes available. 

2 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list required 

3 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the 

4 public and posted on the Web sites of the Depart5 ment of the Treasury and the Department of State. 

6 (4) CONSIDERATION OF DATA FROM OTHER

7 COUNTRIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA8 TIONS.—In preparing the list required under para9 graph (1), the President may consider credible data 

10 already obtained by other countries and nongovern11 mental organizations, including organizations in 

12 Venezuela, that monitor the human rights abuses of 

13 the Government of Venezuela. 

14 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de15 scribed in this subsection are ineligibility for a visa to 

16 enter the United States and sanctions pursuant to the 

17 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

18 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including blocking of property and 

19 restrictions or prohibitions on financial transactions and 

20 the exportation and importation of property, subject to 

21 such regulations as the President may prescribe, including 

22 regulatory exceptions to permit the United States to com23 ply with the Agreement between the United Nations and 

24 the United States of America regarding the Headquarters 

25 of the United Nations, signed June 26, 1947, and entered 


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1 into force November 21, 1947, and other applicable inter2 national obligations. 

3 (d) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The provisions of 

4 this section shall terminate on the date on which the Presi5 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate congres6 sional committees that Venezuela has— 

7 (1) unconditionally released all political pris8 oners and opposition leaders; 

9 (2) ceased violence, unlawful detention, torture, 

10 and abuse of its citizens; 

11 (3) cooperated fully with an independent inves12 tigation into the killings, arrests, and abuse of 

13 peaceful political activists and prosecuted the indi14 viduals responsible for such killings, arrests, and 

15 abuse; and 

16 (4) ceased infringing on freedom of expression 

17 and attacking independent media. 

18 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 

19 TRANSFER OF GOODS OR TECHNOLOGIES TO 

20 VENEZUELA THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE USED 

21 TO COMMIT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc23 tions described in section 5(c) with respect to each person 

24 on the list required under subsection (b) of this section. 

25 (b) LIST.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

3 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com4 mittees a list of persons who the President deter5 mines have knowingly engaged in an activity de6 scribed in paragraph (2) on or after such date of en7 actment. 

8 (2) ACTIVITY DESCRIBED.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person engages in an 

10 activity described in this paragraph if the per11 son— 

12 (i) transfers, or facilitates the transfer 

13 of, goods or technologies described in sub14 paragraph (C) to Venezuela, any entity or15 ganized under the laws of Venezuela, or 

16 any national of Venezuela, for use in or 

17 with respect to Venezuela; or 

18 (ii) provides services (including serv19 ices relating to hardware, software, and 

20 specialized information, and professional 

21 consulting, engineering, and support serv22 ices) with respect to goods or technologies 

23 described in subparagraph (C) after such 

24 goods or technologies are transferred to 

25 Venezuela. 


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1 (B) APPLICABILITY TO CONTRACTS AND

2 OTHER AGREEMENTS.—A person engages in an 

3 activity described in subparagraph (A) without 

4 regard to whether the activity is carried out 

5 pursuant to a contract or other agreement en6 tered into before, on, or after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 (C) GOODS OR TECHNOLOGIES DE9 SCRIBED.—Goods or technologies described in 

10 this subparagraph are goods or technologies 

11 that the President determines are likely to be 

12 used by the Government of Venezuela or any of 

13 the agencies or instrumentalities of the Govern14 ment of Venezuela (or by any other person on 

15 behalf of the Government of Venezuela or any 

16 of such agencies or instrumentalities) to commit 

17 serious human rights abuses against the people 

18 of Venezuela, including— 

19 (i) firearms or ammunition (as such 

20 terms are defined in section 921 of title 

21 18, United States Code), rubber bullets, 

22 police batons, pepper or chemical sprays, 

23 stun grenades, electroshock weapons, tear 

24 gas, water cannons, or surveillance tech25 nology; or 


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1 (ii) sensitive technology (as defined in 

2 section 2(3)). 

3 (3) SPECIAL RULE TO ALLOW FOR TERMI4 NATION OF SANCTIONABLE ACTIVITY.—The Presi5 dent shall not be required to include a person on the 

6 list required under paragraph (1) if the President 

7 certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees that— 

9 (A) the person is no longer engaging in, or 

10 has taken significant verifiable steps toward 

11 stopping, the activity described in paragraph 

12 (2) for which the President would otherwise 

13 have included the person on the list; and 

14 (B) the President has received reliable as15 surances that such person will not knowingly 

16 engage in any activity described in such para17 graph (2) in the future. 

18 (4) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

19 transmit to the appropriate congressional commit20 tees an updated list under paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act; and 

23 (B) as new information becomes available. 

24 (5) FORM OF LIST; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 


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1 (A) FORM.—The list required under para2 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 

3 form but may contain a classified annex. 

4 (B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassi5 fied portion of the list required under para6 graph (1) shall be made available to the public 

7 and posted on the Web sites of the Department 

8 of the Treasury and the Department of State. 

9 SEC. 7. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER10 SONS WHO ENGAGE IN CENSORSHIP OR 

11 OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES AGAINST CITI12 ZENS OF VENEZUELA. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc14 tions described in section 5(c) with respect to each person 

15 on the list required under subsection (b) of this section. 

16 (b) LIST OF PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN CENSOR17 SHIP.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

20 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com21 mittees a list of persons who the President deter22 mines have engaged in censorship or other activities 

23 with respect to Venezuela that— 


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1 (A) prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise 

2 of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens 

3 of Venezuela; or 

4 (B) limit access to print or broadcast 

5 media, including the facilitation or support of 

6 intentional frequency manipulation by the Gov7 ernment of Venezuela or an entity owned or 

8 controlled by the Government of Venezuela that 

9 would jam or restrict an international signal. 

10 (2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

11 transmit to the appropriate congressional commit12 tees an updated list under paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act; and 

15 (B) as new information becomes available. 

16 (3) FORM OF LIST; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

17 (A) FORM.—The list required under para18 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 

19 form but may contain a classified annex. 

20 (B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassi21 fied portion of the list required under para22 graph (1) shall be made available to the public 

23 and posted on the Web sites of the Department 

24 of the Treasury and the Department of State. 


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1 SEC. 8. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON REDUCTION IN IMPOR2 TATION OF PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM 

3 PRODUCTS OF VENEZUELAN ORIGIN. 

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

5 (1) On May 24, 2011, the United States Gov6 ernment decided to impose sanctions on the state7 owned oil company of Venezuela called Petroleos de 

8 Venezuela (PDVSA) under the Iran Sanctions Act 

9 of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 

10 note), for delivering at least two cargoes of refor11 mate to Iran between December 2010 and March 

12 2011, worth approximately $50,000,000. 

13 (2) In 2012, Venezuela was the fourth largest 

14 foreign supplier of crude oil to the United States. 

15 (3) In 2012, the United States imported less 

16 barrels of total crude oil than in 2005. 

17 (4) According to the U.S. Energy Information 

18 Administration, the United States imported approxi19 mately 24,000 barrels per day from Venezuela in 

20 2013, compared to 29,000 barrels per day in 2012, 

21 a 17 percent decrease, and imports from Venezuela 

22 have fallen by nearly half since 2004. 

23 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It should be the policy 

24 of the United States to reduce petroleum imports from 

25 Venezuela in order to prevent its leader Nicola ́s Maduro 

26 from using the profits from the sale of petroleum to fund 


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1 his regime’s oppression and human rights violations 

2 against the people of Venezuela, and to continue the exist3 ing downward trend of petroleum imports from Venezuela. 

4 SEC. 9. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO PROMOTE INTER5 NET FREEDOM AND ACCESS TO INFORMA6 TION. 

7 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

9 with heads of other Federal departments and agencies, as 

10 appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

11 committees a comprehensive strategy to— 

12 (1) assist the people Venezuela to produce, ac13 cess, and share information freely and safely via the 

14 Internet; 

15 (2) increase the capabilities and availability of 

16 secure mobile and other communications through 

17 connective technology among human rights and de18 mocracy activists in Venezuela; 

19 (3) provide resources for digital safety training 

20 for media and academic and civil society organiza21 tions in Venezuela; 

22 (4) increase emergency resources for the most 

23 vulnerable human rights advocates seeking to orga24 nize, share information, and support human rights 

25 in Venezuela; 


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1 (5) expand surrogate radio, television, live 

2 stream, and social network communications inside 

3 Venezuela; 

4 (6) expand activities to safely assist and train 

5 human rights, civil society, and democracy activists 

6 in Venezuela to operate effectively and securely; 

7 (7) expand access to proxy servers for democ8 racy activists in Venezuela; and 

9 (8) discourage telecommunications and software 

10 companies from facilitating Internet censorship by 

11 the Government of Venezuela. 

12 SEC. 10. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO ENSURE THAT 

13 VENEZUELA WILL UPHOLD DEMOCRATIC 

14 PRINCIPLES. 

15 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

17 the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive 

18 strategy to ensure that the Government of Venezuela will 

19 uphold— 

20 (1) free, fair, and transparent elections— 

21 (A) conducted under the supervision of 

22 internationally recognized observers; and 

23 (B) in which— 


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1 (i) opposition parties were permitted 

2 ample time to organize and campaign for 

3 such elections; and 

4 (ii) all candidates were permitted full 

5 access to the media; 

6 (2) are showing respect for the basic civil lib7 erties and human rights of the citizens of Venezuela; 

8 (3) are substantially moving toward a market9 oriented economic systems based on the right to own 

10 and enjoy property; 

11 (4) are committed to making constitutional 

12 changes that would ensure regular free and fair elec13 tions and the full enjoyment of basic civil liberties 

14 and human rights by the citizens of Venezuela; and 

15 (5) have made demonstrable progress in estab16 lishing independent judiciaries and electoral councils. 

17 SEC. 11. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON POLITICAL PRIS18 ONERS. 

19 It shall be the policy of the United States— 

20 (1) to support efforts to research and identify 

21 prisoners of conscience and cases of human rights 

22 abuses in Venezuela; 

23 (2) to offer refugee status or political asylum in 

24 the United States to political dissidents in Venezuela 


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1 if requested and consistent with the laws and na2 tional security interests of the United States; 

3 (3) to offer to assist, through the United Na4 tions High Commissioner for Refugees, with the re5 location of such political prisoners to other countries 

6 if requested, as appropriate and with appropriate 

7 consideration for the national security interests of 

8 the United States; and 

9 (4) to publicly call for the release of Venezuelan 

10 country dissidents by name and raise awareness with 

11 respect to individual cases of Venezuelan country 

12 dissidents and prisoners of conscience, as appro13 priate and if requested by the dissidents or prisoners 

14 themselves or their families. 

15 SEC. 12. SUPPORT FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN VENEZUELA. 

16 Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for en17 vironmental programs in Ecuador by the United States 

18 Agency for International Development, $3,000,000 shall 

19 be made available for assistance to civil society in Ven20 ezuela. 

Æ 


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