II 

Calendar No. 401 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2142 

[Report No. 113–175] 

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, Mr. KIRK, and Mr. 

MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 22, 2014 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Venezuela Defense of 

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

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Na7 tional Statistical Institute of Venezuela have stated 

8 that the inflation rate in Venezuela was 56.30 per9 cent in 2013, the highest level of inflation in the 

10 Western Hemisphere and the third highest level of 

11 inflation in the world behind South Sudan and 

12 Syria. 

13 (2) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the 

14 Government of Venezuela have imposed a series of 

15 currency controls that has exacerbated economic 

16 problems and, according to the World Economic 

17 Forum, has become the most problematic factor for 

18 doing business in Venezuela. 

19 (3) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Na20 tional Statistical Institute of Venezuela have de21 clared that the scarcity index of Venezuela reached 

22 28 percent in December 2013, which signifies that 

23 one in 4 basic goods is unavailable at any given 

24 time. 

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

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1 atory, an independent nongovernmental organiza2 tion, found the national per capita murder rate to be 

3 79 per 100,000 people in 2013. 

4 (5) The international nongovernmental organi5 zation Human Rights Watch recently stated, ‘‘Under 

6 the leadership of President Cha`vez and now Presi7 dent Maduro, the accumulation of power in the exec8 utive branch and the erosion of human rights guar9 antees have enabled the government to intimidate, 

10 censor, and prosecute its critics.’’. 

11 (6) The Country Reports on Human Rights 

12 Practices for 2013 of the Department of State main13 tained that in Venezuela ‘‘the government did not 

14 respect judicial independence or permit judges to act 

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

16 ‘‘the government used the judiciary to intimidate 

17 and selectively prosecute political, union, business, 

18 and civil society leaders who were critical of govern19 ment policies or actions’’. 

20 (7) The Government of Venezuela has detained 

21 foreign journalists and threatened and expelled 

22 international media outlets operating in Venezuela, 

23 and the international nongovernmental organization 

24 Freedom House declared that Venezuela’s ‘‘media 

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1 cluding physical attacks, and strong antimedia rhet2 oric by the government is common’’. 

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

4 Venezuela has responded to antigovernment protests 

5 with violence and killings perpetrated by public secu6 rity forces, and by arresting and unjustly charging 

7 opposition leader Leopoldo Lopes with criminal in8 citement, conspiracy, arson, and intent to damage 

9 property. 

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

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

12 dozens had been unjustly detained as a result of 

13 antigovernment demonstrations throughout Ven14 ezuela. 

15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING 

16 ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN VENEZUELA 

17 AND THE NEED TO PREVENT FURTHER VIO18 LENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) the United States aspires to a mutually 

21 beneficial relationship with Venezuela based on re22 spect for human rights and the rule of law and a 

23 functional and productive relationship on issues of 

24 public security, including counternarcotics and 

25 counterterrorism; 


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1 (2) the United States supports the people of 

2 Venezuela in their efforts to realize their full eco3 nomic potential and to advance representative de4 mocracy, human rights, and the rule of law within 

5 their country; 

6 (3) the chronic mismanagement by the Govern7 ment of Venezuela of its economy has produced con8 ditions of economic hardship and scarcity of basic 

9 goods and foodstuffs for the people of Venezuela; 

10 (4) the failure of the Government of Venezuela 

11 to guarantee minimal standards of public security 

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

13 the most violent in the world; 

14 (5) the Government of Venezuela continues to 

15 take steps to remove checks and balances on the ex16 ecutive, politicize the judiciary, undermine the inde17 pendence of the legislature through use of executive 

18 decree powers, persecute and prosecute its political 

19 opponents, curtail freedom of the press, and limit 

20 the free expression of its citizens; 

21 (6) the people of Venezuela, responding to on22 going economic hardship, high levels of crime and vi23 olence, and the lack of basic political rights and indi24 vidual freedoms, have turned out in demonstrations 

25 in Caracas and throughout the country to protest 


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1 the inability of the Government of Venezuela to en2 sure the political and economic well-being of its citi3 zens; and 

4 (7) the repeated use of violence perpetrated by 

5 the National Guard and security personnel of Ven6 ezuela, as well as persons acting on behalf of the 

7 Government of Venezuela, in relation to the 

8 antigovernment protests that began on February 4, 

9 2014, is intolerable and the use of unprovoked vio10 lence by protesters is also a matter of serious con11 cern. 

12 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD VENEZUELA. 

13 It is the policy of the United States— 

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

15 aspiration to live under conditions of peace and rep16 resentative democracy as defined by the Inter-Amer17 ican Democratic Charter of the Organization of 

18 American States; 

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

20 states within the Organization of American States, 

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

22 ensure the peaceful resolution of the current situa23 tion in Venezuela and the immediate cessation of vi24 olence against antigovernment protestors; 


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1 (3) to hold accountable government and secu2 rity officials in Venezuela responsible for or 

3 complicit in the use of force in relation to the 

4 antigovernment protests that began on February 4, 

5 2014, and similar future acts of violence; and 

6 (4) to continue to support the development of 

7 democratic political processes and independent civil 

8 society in Venezuela. 

9 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIO10 LENCE IN VENEZUELA. 

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

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

13 person, including a current or former official of the Gov14 ernment of Venezuela or a person acting on behalf of that 

15 Government, that the President determines— 

16 (1) has perpetrated, or is responsible for order17 ing, controlling, or otherwise directing, significant 

18 acts of violence or serious human rights abuses in 

19 Venezuela against persons associated with the 

20 antigovernment protests in Venezuela that began on 

21 February 4, 2014; 

22 (2) has directed or ordered the arrest or pros23 ecution of a person primarily because of the person’s 

24 legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or as25 sembly; or 


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1 (3) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro2 vided significant financial, material, or technological 

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

4 commission of acts described in paragraph (1) or 

5 (2). 

6 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

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

8 this subsection are the following: 

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

10 powers granted to the President by the Inter11 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

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

13 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop14 erty and interests in property of a person deter15 mined by the President to be subject to sub16 section (a) if such property and interests in 

17 property are in the United States, come within 

18 the United States, or are or come within the 

19 possession or control of a United States person. 

20 (B) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED

21 STATES AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER

22 DOCUMENTATION.—In the case of an alien de23 termined by the President to be subject to sub24 section (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion 

25 from the United States of, the alien, and revVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 May 23, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2142.RS S2142

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1 ocation in accordance with section 221(i) of the 

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

3 1201(i)), of any visa or other documentation of 

4 the alien. 

5 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at6 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

7 violation of paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, li8 cense, or order issued to carry out paragraph (1)(A) 

9 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub10 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter11 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

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

13 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

14 of that section. 

15 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA16 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

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

18 if admitting the alien into the United States is nec19 essary to permit the United States to comply with 

20 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

21 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 

22 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

23 between the United Nations and the United States, 

24 or other applicable international obligations. 


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1 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica2 tion of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a 

3 person if the President— 

4 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na5 tional security interests of the United States; and 

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

7 takes effect, submits to the Committee on Foreign 

8 Relations and the Committee on Banking Housing, 

9 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

10 on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial 

11 Services of the House of Representatives a notice of 

12 and justification for the waiver. 

13 (d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 

14 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec15 essary to carry out this section. 

16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

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

19 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

21 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi22 nancial institution’’ has the meaning given that term 

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

24 (3) MATERIALLY ASSISTED.—The term ‘‘mate25 rially assisted’’ means the provision of assistance 


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1 that is significant and of a kind directly relevant to 

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

3 (a). 

4 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

5 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

6 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law7 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

8 United States; or 

9 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

10 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

11 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

12 such an entity. 

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

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 

15 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter16 national Development shall, subject to the availability of 

17 appropriations, directly or through nongovernmental orga18 nizations— 

19 (1) defend internationally recognized human 

20 rights for the people of Venezuela; 

21 (2) build the organizational and operational ca22 pacity of democratic civil society activists and orga23 nizations in Venezuela at the national and regional 

24 level; 


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1 (3) support the efforts of independent media 

2 outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share informa3 tion beyond the limited channels made available by 

4 the Government of Venezuela; 

5 (2) strengthen the organizational and oper6 ational capacity of democratic civil society in Ven7 ezuela; 

8 (3) support the efforts of independent media out9 lets to broadcast, distribute, and share information 

10 beyond the limited means available as of the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act; 

12 (4) facilitate open and uncensored access to the 

13 Internet for the people of Venezuela; 

14 (5) improve transparency and accountability of 

15 institutions that are part of the Government of Ven16 ezuela; 

17 (6) provide support to civil society organiza18 tions, activists, and peaceful demonstrators in Ven19 ezuela that have been targeted for exercising inter20 nationally recognized civil and political rights, as 

21 well as journalists targeted for activities related to 

22 the work of a free press; and 

23 (7) provide support for democratic political or24 ganizing and election monitoring in Venezuela. 


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

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi3 dent shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities de4 scribed in subsection (a) to— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

6 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

7 House of Representatives; and 

8 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

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

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

15 Amounts appropriated for the activities set forth in 

16 subsection (a) shall be used pursuant to the author17 ization and requirements contained in this section. 

18 Additional amounts may be authorized to be appro19 priated under provisions of law. 

20 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Funds appropriated or 

22 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph 

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

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1 vided notice of intent to obligate such funds 

2 to— 

3 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela4 tions of the Senate and the Committee on 

5 Foreign Affairs of the House of Represent6 atives; and 

7 (ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

8 of the Senate and the Committee on Ap9 propriations of the House of Representa10 tives. 

11 (B) WAIVER.—The President may waive 

12 the requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 

13 President determines that failure to waive that 

14 requirement would pose a substantial risk to 

15 human health or welfare, in which case notifica16 tion shall be provided as early as practicable, 

17 but in no event later than 3 days after taking 

18 the action to which such notification require19 ment was applicable in the context of the cir20 cumstances necessitating such waiver. 

21 SEC. 7. REPORT ON BROADCASTING, INFORMATION DIS22 TRIBUTION, AND CIRCUMVENTION TECH23 NOLOGY DISTRIBUTION IN VENEZUELA. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the 


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1 Broadcasting Board of Governors (in this section referred 

2 to as the ‘‘Board’’) shall submit to Congress a report that 

3 includes— 

4 (1) a thorough evaluation of the governmental, 

5 political, and technological obstacles faced by the peo6 ple of Venezuela in their efforts to obtain accurate, ob7 jective, and comprehensive news and information 

8 about domestic and international affairs; 

9 (2) an assessment of current efforts relating to 

10 broadcasting, information distribution, and cir11 cumvention technology distribution in Venezuela, by 

12 the United States Government and otherwise; and 

13 (3) a strategy for expanding such efforts in Ven14 ezuela, including recommendations for additional 

15 measures to expand upon current efforts. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

17 shall include— 

18 (1) an assessment of the current level of Federal 

19 funding dedicated to broadcasting, information dis20 tribution, and circumvention technology distribution 

21 in Venezuela by the Board before the date of the en22 actment of this Act; 

23 (2) an assessment of whether the current level 

24 and type of news and related programming and con25 tent provided by the Voice of America is sufficiently 


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1 addressing the informational needs of the people of 

2 Venezuela; and 

3 (3) specific measures for increasing broadcasting, 

4 information distribution, and circumvention tech5 nology distribution in Venezuela. 


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Calendar No. 401 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2142 

[Report No. 113–175] 

A BILL 

To impose targeted sanctions on persons responother purposes. strengthen civil society in Venezuela, and for antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to sible for violations of human rights of 

MAY 22, 2014 

Reported with amendments 


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