II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2142 

To impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of human 

rights of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen civil 

society in Venezuela, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2014 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. NELSON, and Mr. KIRK) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

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

Venezuela, to strengthen civil society in Venezuela, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Venezuela Defense of 

5 Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Na2 tional Statistical Institute of Venezuela have stated 

3 that the inflation rate in Venezuela was 56.30 per4 cent in 2013, the highest level of inflation in the 

5 Western Hemisphere and the third highest level of 

6 inflation in the world behind South Sudan and 

7 Syria. 

8 (2) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the 

9 Government of Venezuela have imposed a series of 

10 currency controls that has exacerbated economic 

11 problems and, according to the World Economic 

12 Forum, has become the most problematic factor for 

13 doing business in Venezuela. 

14 (3) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Na15 tional Statistical Institute of Venezuela have de16 clared that the scarcity index of Venezuela reached 

17 28 percent in December 2013, which signifies that 

18 one in 4 basic goods is unavailable at any given 

19 time. 

20 (4) Since 1999, violent crime in Venezuela has 

21 risen sharply and the Venezuelan Violence Observ22 atory, an independent nongovernmental organiza23 tion, found the national per capita murder rate to be 

24 79 per 100,000 people in 2013. 


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1 (5) The international nongovernmental organi2 zation Human Rights Watch recently stated, ‘‘Under 

3 the leadership of President Cha`vez and now Presi4 dent Maduro, the accumulation of power in the exec5 utive branch and the erosion of human rights guar6 antees have enabled the government to intimidate, 

7 censor, and prosecute its critics.’’. 

8 (6) The Country Reports on Human Rights 

9 Practices for 2013 of the Department of State main10 tained that in Venezuela ‘‘the government did not 

11 respect judicial independence or permit judges to act 

12 according to the law without fear of retaliation’’ and 

13 ‘‘the government used the judiciary to intimidate 

14 and selectively prosecute political, union, business, 

15 and civil society leaders who were critical of govern16 ment policies or actions’’. 

17 (7) The Government of Venezuela has detained 

18 foreign journalists and threatened and expelled 

19 international media outlets operating in Venezuela, 

20 and the international nongovernmental organization 

21 Freedom House declared that Venezuela’s ‘‘media 

22 climate is permeated by intimidation, sometimes in23 cluding physical attacks, and strong antimedia rhet24 oric by the government is common’’. 


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

2 Venezuela has responded to antigovernment protests 

3 with violence and killings perpetrated by public secu4 rity forces, and by arresting and unjustly charging 

5 opposition leader Leopoldo Lopes with criminal in6 citement, conspiracy, arson, and intent to damage 

7 property. 

8 (9) As of March 13, 2014, 23 people had been 

9 killed, more than 100 people had been injured, and 

10 dozens had been unjustly detained as a result of 

11 antigovernment demonstrations throughout Ven12 ezuela. 

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING 

14 ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN VENEZUELA 

15 AND THE NEED TO PREVENT FURTHER VIO16 LENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) the United States aspires to a mutually 

19 beneficial relationship with Venezuela based on re20 spect for human rights and the rule of law and a 

21 functional and productive relationship on issues of 

22 public security, including counternarcotics and 

23 counterterrorism; 

24 (2) the United States supports the people of 

25 Venezuela in their efforts to realize their full ecoVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Mar 21, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2142.IS S2142

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1 nomic potential and to advance representative de2 mocracy, human rights, and the rule of law within 

3 their country; 

4 (3) the chronic mismanagement by the Govern5 ment of Venezuela of its economy has produced con6 ditions of economic hardship and scarcity of basic 

7 goods and foodstuffs for the people of Venezuela; 

8 (4) the failure of the Government of Venezuela 

9 to guarantee minimal standards of public security 

10 for its citizens has led the country to become one of 

11 the most violent in the world; 

12 (5) the Government of Venezuela continues to 

13 take steps to remove checks and balances on the ex14 ecutive, politicize the judiciary, undermine the inde15 pendence of the legislature through use of executive 

16 decree powers, persecute and prosecute its political 

17 opponents, curtail freedom of the press, and limit 

18 the free expression of its citizens; 

19 (6) the people of Venezuela, responding to on20 going economic hardship, high levels of crime and vi21 olence, and the lack of basic political rights and indi22 vidual freedoms, have turned out in demonstrations 

23 in Caracas and throughout the country to protest 

24 the inability of the Government of Venezuela to enVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Mar 21, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2142.IS S2142

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1 sure the political and economic well-being of its citi2 zens; and 

3 (7) the repeated use of violence perpetrated by 

4 the National Guard and security personnel of Ven5 ezuela, as well as persons acting on behalf of the 

6 Government of Venezuela, in relation to the 

7 antigovernment protests that began on February 4, 

8 2014, is intolerable and the use of unprovoked vio9 lence by protesters is also a matter of serious con10 cern. 

11 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD VENEZUELA. 

12 It is the policy of the United States— 

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

14 aspiration to live under conditions of peace and rep15 resentative democracy as defined by the Inter-Amer16 ican Democratic Charter of the Organization of 

17 American States; 

18 (2) to work in concert with the other member 

19 states within the Organization of American States, 

20 as well as the countries of the European Union, to 

21 ensure the peaceful resolution of the current situa22 tion in Venezuela and the immediate cessation of vi23 olence against antigovernment protestors; 

24 (3) to hold accountable government and secu25 rity officials in Venezuela responsible for or 


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1 complicit in the use of force in relation to the 

2 antigovernment protests that began on February 4, 

3 2014, and similar future acts of violence; and 

4 (4) to continue to support the development of 

5 democratic political processes and independent civil 

6 society in Venezuela. 

7 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIO8 LENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

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

10 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 

11 person, including a current or former official of the Gov12 ernment of Venezuela or a person acting on behalf of that 

13 Government, that the President determines— 

14 (1) has perpetrated, or is responsible for order15 ing, controlling, or otherwise directing, significant 

16 acts of violence or serious human rights abuses in 

17 Venezuela against persons associated with the 

18 antigovernment protests in Venezuela that began on 

19 February 4, 2014; 

20 (2) has directed or ordered the arrest or pros21 ecution of a person primarily because of the person’s 

22 legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or as23 sembly; or 

24 (3) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro25 vided significant financial, material, or technological 


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1 support for, or goods or services in support of, the 

2 commission of acts described in paragraph (1) or 

3 (2). 

4 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

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

6 this subsection are the following: 

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

8 powers granted to the President by the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

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

11 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop12 erty and interests in property of a person deter13 mined by the President to be subject to sub14 section (a) if such property and interests in 

15 property are in the United States, come within 

16 the United States, or are or come within the 

17 possession or control of a United States person. 

18 (B) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED

19 STATES AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER

20 DOCUMENTATION.—In the case of an alien de21 termined by the President to be subject to sub22 section (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion 

23 from the United States of, the alien, and rev24 ocation in accordance with section 221(i) of the 

25 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 


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1 1201(i)), of any visa or other documentation of 

2 the alien. 

3 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at4 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

5 violation of paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, li6 cense, or order issued to carry out paragraph (1)(A) 

7 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub8 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

10 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 

11 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

12 of that section. 

13 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA14 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

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

16 if admitting the alien into the United States is nec17 essary to permit the United States to comply with 

18 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

19 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 

20 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

21 between the United Nations and the United States, 

22 or other applicable international obligations. 

23 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica24 tion of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a 

25 person if the President— 


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1 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na2 tional security interests of the United States; and 

3 (2) on or before the date on which the waiver 

4 takes effect, submits to the Committee on Foreign 

5 Relations and the Committee on Banking Housing, 

6 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial 

8 Services of the House of Representatives a notice of 

9 and justification for the waiver. 

10 (d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 

11 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec12 essary to carry out this section. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

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

16 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

18 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi19 nancial institution’’ has the meaning given that term 

20 in section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 

21 (3) MATERIALLY ASSISTED.—The term ‘‘mate22 rially assisted’’ means the provision of assistance 

23 that is significant and of a kind directly relevant to 

24 acts described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

2 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

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

5 United States; or 

6 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

7 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

8 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

9 such an entity. 

10 SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN VENEZUELA. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall, sub12 ject to the availability of appropriations, directly or 

13 through nongovernmental organizations— 

14 (1) defend internationally recognized human 

15 rights for the people of Venezuela; 

16 (2) build the organizational and operational ca17 pacity of democratic civil society activists and orga18 nizations in Venezuela at the national and regional 

19 level; 

20 (3) support the efforts of independent media 

21 outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share informa22 tion beyond the limited channels made available by 

23 the Government of Venezuela; 

24 (4) facilitate open and uncensored access to the 

25 Internet for the people of Venezuela; 


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1 (5) improve transparency and accountability of 

2 institutions that are part of the Government of Ven3 ezuela; 

4 (6) provide support to civil society organiza5 tions, activists, and peaceful demonstrators in Ven6 ezuela that have been targeted for exercising inter7 nationally recognized civil and political rights, as 

8 well as journalists targeted for activities related to 

9 the work of a free press; and 

10 (7) provide support for democratic political or11 ganizing and election monitoring in Venezuela. 

12 (b) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi14 dent shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities de15 scribed in subsection (a) to— 

16 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

18 House of Representatives; and 

19 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

24 appropriated to the Secretary of State $15,000,000 

25 for fiscal year 2015 to carry out subsection (a). 


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1 Amounts appropriated for the activities set forth in 

2 subsection (a) shall be used pursuant to the author3 ization and requirements contained in this section. 

4 Additional amounts may be authorized to be appro5 priated under provisions of law. 

6 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Funds appropriated or 

8 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1) may not be obligated until until 15 days 

10 after the date on which the President has pro11 vided notice of intent to obligate such funds 

12 to— 

13 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela14 tions of the Senate and the Committee on 

15 Foreign Affairs of the House of Represent16 atives; and 

17 (ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Ap19 propriations of the House of Representa20 tives. 

21 (B) WAIVER.—The President may waive 

22 the requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 

23 President determines that failure to waive that 

24 requirement would pose a substantial risk to 

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1 tion shall be provided as early as practicable, 

2 but in no event later than 3 days after taking 

3 the action to which such notification require4 ment was applicable in the context of the cir5 cumstances necessitating such waiver. 

Æ 


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