I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7245 

To provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and Venezuelan 

migrants, to advance a constitutional and democratic solution to Venezuela’s political crisis, to address Venezuela’s economic reconstruction, 

to combat public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2018 

Mr. SIRES (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and 

Mrs. TORRES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the 

Judiciary, 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 provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and 

Venezuelan migrants, to advance a constitutional and 

democratic solution to Venezuela’s political crisis, to address Venezuela’s economic reconstruction, to combat 

public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Venezuela Humanitarian Relief, Reconstruction, and 

4 Rule of Law Act of 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. 

TITLE I—HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA 

Sec. 101. Humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans in neighboring countries. 

Sec. 102. Support for efforts at the United Nations on the humanitarian crisis 

in Venezuela. 

TITLE II—RESTORING DEMOCRACY AND ADDRESSING THE 

POLITICAL CRISIS IN VENEZUELA 

Sec. 201. Recognition of Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly. 

Sec. 202. Advancing a negotiated solution to Venezuela’s crisis. 

Sec. 203. Support for the Lima Group. 

Sec. 204. Accountability for crimes against humanity. 

TITLE III—SUPPORTING THE RECONSTRUCTION OF VENEZUELA 

Sec. 301. Engaging international financial institutions to advance the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy and energy infrastructure. 

Sec. 302. Recovering assets stolen from the Venezuelan people. 

TITLE IV—RESTORING THE RULE OF LAW IN VENEZUELA 

Sec. 401. Public information about sanctioned officials. 

Sec. 402. Coordinating targeted sanctions with partners in the Western Hemisphere and the European Union. 

Sec. 403. Financial sanctions on Venezuelan government debt. 

Sec. 404. Exceptions for humanitarian assistance. 

TITLE V—CRYPTOCURRENCY SANCTIONS AND ENSURING THE 

EFFECTIVENESS OF UNITED STATES SANCTIONS 

Sec. 501. Sanctions on Venezuela’s cryptocurrency and the provision of related 

technologies. 

Sec. 502. Report on the impact of cryptocurrencies on United States sanctions. 

TITLE VI—TERMINATION 

Sec. 601. Extension and termination of sanctions against Venezuela. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) Venezuela’s electoral event on May 20, 

2 2018— 

3 (A) was not legitimate; and 

4 (B) did not comply with international 

5 standards for a free, fair, and transparent 

6 democratic process; and 

7 (2) senior officials in the de facto government 

8 of Nicola ́s Maduro— 

9 (A) have taken continuous steps— 

10 (i) to consolidate an authoritarian 

11 government; and 

12 (ii) to direct political control over 

13 Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, 

14 National Electoral Council, and armed 

15 forces; 

16 (B) have implemented policies that are di17 rectly responsible for— 

18 (i) Venezuela’s economic and humani19 tarian crises; and 

20 (ii) the massive outflow of Venezuelan 

21 migrants leaving the country; 

22 (C) have used access to food as a tool of 

23 political coercion and a source of corruption 

24 and have directly profited from corruption in 

25 food procurement contracts; 


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1 (D) have utilized repressive tactics to vio2 late and curtail human rights, political rights, 

3 freedom of expression, and freedom of the 

4 press, including the arbitrary detention of polit5 ical prisoners; and 

6 (E) have engaged in acts of gross corrup7 tion and criminality that have contributed to 

8 the absence of the rule of law in Venezuela. 

9 TITLE I—HUMANITARIAN 

10 RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA 

11 SEC. 101. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO VENEZUELANS 

12 IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi14 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen15 cy for International Development, shall work through 

16 international and nongovernmental organizations to pro17 vide Venezuelans in neighboring countries with humani18 tarian aid, such as— 

19 (1) urgently needed health and nutritional as20 sistance, including logistical and technical assistance 

21 to hospitals and health centers in affected commu22 nities; 

23 (2) food assistance for vulnerable individuals, 

24 including assistance to improve food security for af25 fected communities; and 


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1 (3) hygiene supplies and sanitation services. 

2 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The assistance de3 scribed in subsection (a)— 

4 (1) may be provided— 

5 (A) directly to Venezuelans in neighboring 

6 countries; or 

7 (B) indirectly through the communities in 

8 which the Venezuelans reside; and 

9 (2) should focus on the most vulnerable Ven10 ezuelans in neighboring countries. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

13 appropriated to the Secretary of State $20,000,000 

14 for fiscal year 2019 to carry out the activities set 

15 forth in subsection (a) in accordance with this sec16 tion. 

17 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

19 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 

20 or otherwise made available pursuant to para21 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

22 after the date on which the President provides 

23 notice to the appropriate congressional commit24 tees of the intent to obligate such funds. 

25 (B) WAIVER.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

2 State may waive the requirement under 

3 subparagraph (A) if the Secretary deter4 mines that such requirement would pose a 

5 substantial risk to human health or wel6 fare. 

7 (ii) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—If 

8 a waiver is invoked under clause (i), the 

9 President shall notify the appropriate con10 gressional committees of the intention to 

11 obligate funds under this section as early 

12 as practicable, but not later than 3 days 

13 after taking the action to which such noti14 fication requirement was applicable in the 

15 context of the circumstances necessitating 

16 such waiver. 

17 (C) DEFINED TERM.—In this subpara18 graph, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 

19 committees’’ means— 

20 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela21 tions of the Senate; 

22 (ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

23 of the Senate; 

24 (iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

25 of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (iv) the Committee on Appropriations 

2 of the House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 102. SUPPORT FOR EFFORTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS 

4 ON THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN VEN5 EZUELA. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that the United Nations humanitarian agencies, in8 cluding the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 

9 Affairs, the World Health Organization, the Pan Amer10 ican Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Orga11 nization, UNICEF, and the United Nations High Com12 missioner for Refugees, should conduct and publish inde13 pendent assessments regarding— 

14 (1) the extent and impact of the shortages of 

15 food and medicine in Venezuela; and 

16 (2) the efforts needed to resolve such shortages. 

17 (b) INITIAL EFFORTS.—The President shall instruct 

18 the Permanent Representative of the United States to the 

19 United Nations to use the voice and vote of the United 

20 States in the United Nations Security Council to secure 

21 the necessary votes— 

22 (1) to place the humanitarian and political cri23 sis in Venezuela on the United Nations Security 

24 Council’s Programme of Work; and 


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1 (2) to secure a Presidential Statement from the 

2 President of the United Nations Security Council 

3 urging the Government of Venezuela— 

4 (A) to allow the delivery of humanitarian 

5 relief; and 

6 (B) to lift bureaucratic impediments or 

7 any other obstacles preventing independent non8 governmental organizations from providing the 

9 proper assistance to the people of Venezuela 

10 without any interference by the Government of 

11 Venezuela. 

12 (c) UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN COORDI13 NATOR.—The President shall instruct the Permanent Rep14 resentative to the United Nations to use the voice and in15 fluence of the United States to advance the appointment 

16 of a United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ven17 ezuela to lead and coordinate the efforts of humanitarian 

18 organizations in a manner that contributes to Venezuela’s 

19 long-term recovery. 

20 (d) ADDITIONAL EFFORTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Government of Ven22 ezuela refuses to allow the delivery of humanitarian 

23 relief and to lift bureaucratic impediments and any 

24 other obstacles described in subsection (b)(2)(B), the 

25 President, beginning not later than 30 days after the 


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1 conclusion of the efforts of the United Nations de2 scribed in such subsection, shall instruct the Perma3 nent Representative of the United States to the 

4 United Nations to use the voice and vote of the 

5 United States to secure the adoption of a resolution 

6 described in paragraph (2). 

7 (2) RESOLUTION DESCRIBED.—The resolution 

8 described in this paragraph is a Resolution of the 

9 United Nations Security Council that— 

10 (A) requires the Government of Venezuela 

11 to promptly allow safe and unhindered access 

12 for humanitarian agencies and their imple13 menting partners, including possible support 

14 from neighboring countries; and 

15 (B) calls on the Government of Ven16 ezuela— 

17 (i) to allow the delivery of food and 

18 medicine to the people of Venezuela; 

19 (ii) to end human rights violations 

20 against the people of Venezuela; 

21 (iii) to agree to free, fair, and trans22 parent elections with credible international 

23 observers; 

24 (iv) to cease violence against the peo25 ple of Venezuela; and 


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1 (v) to release all political prisoners 

2 held by the Government of Venezuela. 

3 TITLE II—RESTORING DEMOC4 RACY AND ADDRESSING THE 

5 POLITICAL CRISIS IN VEN6 EZUELA 

7 SEC. 201. RECOGNITION OF VENEZUELA’S DEMOCRAT8 ICALLY ELECTED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find10 ings: 

11 (1) Venezuela’s unicameral National Assembly 

12 convened on January 6, 2016, following democratic 

13 elections that were held on December 6, 2015. 

14 (2) Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly 

15 convened on August 4, 2017, in the aftermath of an 

16 election on July 30, 2017, which was characterized 

17 by widespread fraud and, as a result of administra18 tive processes, failed to comply with the Constitution 

19 of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that actions taken by the Government of Venezuela 

22 that require legislative approval, ratification, or concur23 rence, including the provision or refinancing of debts, 

24 should only be recognized as legitimate by the United 

25 States and the international community if such legislative 


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1 actions are performed by the democratically elected Na2 tional Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 

3 (c) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States— 

4 (1) to recognize the democratically elected Na5 tional Assembly of Venezuela as the only legitimate 

6 national legislative body in Venezuela; and 

7 (2) not to recognize Venezuela’s National Con8 stituent Assembly as a legitimate legislative body. 

9 SEC. 202. ADVANCING A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO VEN10 EZUELA’S CRISIS. 

11 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) direct, credible negotiations between the 

14 Government of Venezuela and political opposition, 

15 which include democratically elected deputies of the 

16 National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of 

17 Venezuela, are supported by stakeholders in the 

18 international diplomatic community, and include the 

19 input and interests of Venezuelan civil society, rep20 resent the best opportunity to reach a solution to the 

21 Venezuelan crisis that includes— 

22 (A) restoring democracy and the rule of 

23 law; 

24 (B) freeing political prisoners; 


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1 (C) facilitating the delivery of humani2 tarian aid; and 

3 (D) establishing conditions for free and 

4 fair democratic elections; 

5 (2) negotiations between the Government of 

6 Venezuela and political opposition that commenced 

7 in October 2017, and were supported by the Govern8 ments of Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, did 

9 not result in an agreement because the Government 

10 of Venezuela failed to credibly participate in the 

11 process; and 

12 (3) negotiations between the Government of 

13 Venezuela and political opposition that commenced 

14 in October 2016, and were supported by the Vati15 can, did not result in an agreement because the Gov16 ernment of Venezuela failed to credibly participate 

17 in the process. 

18 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 

19 support diplomatic engagement in order to advance a ne20 gotiated solution to Venezuela’s political, economic, and 

21 humanitarian crisis that is described in subsection (a)(1). 

22 SEC. 203. SUPPORT FOR THE LIMA GROUP. 

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find24 ings: 


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1 (1) The Lima Group is a diplomatic bloc whose 

2 members include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, 

3 Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Hon4 duras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint 

5 Lucia. 

6 (2) The Lima Group— 

7 (A) has condemned the rupture of the 

8 democratic order in Venezuela; 

9 (B) has reaffirmed the authority of the 

10 democratically elected National Assembly of 

11 Venezuela; 

12 (C) has rejected Venezuela’s National Con13 stituent Assembly; 

14 (D) has called on the Government of Ven15 ezuela to accept humanitarian assistance in 

16 order to address the country’s growing eco17 nomic crisis; and 

18 (E) has stated that it does not recognize 

19 the legitimacy of Venezuela’s May 20, 2018, 

20 presidential election as it did not comply with 

21 international standards for a democratic, free, 

22 fair, and transparent process. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that the Secretary of State should conduct diplo25 matic engagement in support of efforts by the Lima Group 


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1 to restore democracy and the rule of law Venezuela and 

2 facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the 

3 Venezuelan people. 

4 SEC. 204. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMAN5 ITY. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) On July 25, 2017, the Secretary General of 

9 the Organization of American States stated ‘‘the 

10 systematic attack against the civilian population [of 

11 Venezuela] includes murders, imprisonment and tor12 ture, and it is evident in the eyes of the inter13 national community that we are in the presence of 

14 crimes against humanity.’’. 

15 (2) On September 11, 2017, the United Na16 tions High Commissioner for Human Rights stated 

17 that Venezuelan security forces may have committed 

18 crimes against humanity against protesters and 

19 called for a credible international investigation. 

20 (3) A November 29, 2017, report by Human 

21 Rights Watch documented that Venezuelan security 

22 forces had used extreme and, at times, lethal forces 

23 against protesters and, once detained, subjected 

24 them to abuses ranging from severe beatings to torVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Dec 12, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7245.IH H7245

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1 ture involving electric shocks, asphyxiation, and 

2 other techniques. 

3 (4) On February 8, 2018, the Prosecutor of the 

4 International Criminal Court opened a preliminary 

5 examination of the situation in Venezuela as it re6 lates to Venezuelan security forces using excessive 

7 force against civilians and the political opposition. 

8 (5) On May 29, 2018, a panel of independent 

9 international experts convened by the Secretary Gen10 eral of the Organization of American States found 

11 that ‘‘there are reasonable grounds that satisfy the 

12 standard of proof required by Article 53 of the 

13 Rome Statute for considering that acts to which the 

14 civilian population of Venezuela was subjected [. . .] 

15 constitute crimes against humanity’’. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the Secretary of State should conduct robust 

18 diplomatic engagement in support of efforts in Venezuela, 

19 and on the part of the international community, to ensure 

20 accountability for possible crimes against humanity and 

21 other violations of international humanitarian law and vio22 lations and abuses of human rights. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

25 submit a report to Congress that— 


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1 (1) evaluates the degree to which the Govern2 ment of Venezuela and its officials, including mem3 bers of the Venezuelan security force, have engaged 

4 in actions that constitute crimes against humanity 

5 and violations of international humanitarian law; 

6 and 

7 (2) provides options for holding accountable the 

8 perpetrators identified under paragraph (1). 

9 TITLE III—SUPPORTING THE RE10 CONSTRUCTION OF VEN11 EZUELA 

12 SEC. 301. ENGAGING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU13 TIONS TO ADVANCE THE RECONSTRUCTION 

14 OF VENEZUELA’S ECONOMY AND ENERGY IN15 FRASTRUCTURE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Treasury, in 

17 consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary 

18 of Energy, should work through the United States Execu19 tive Directors to the International Monetary Fund and the 

20 Multilateral Development Banks to create a framework for 

21 the economic reconstruction of Venezuela, contingent upon 

22 the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in the 

23 country. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The framework cre2 ated under subsection (a) should include policy pro3 posals— 

4 (1) to provide Venezuelans with humanitarian 

5 assistance, poverty alleviation, and a social safety 

6 net; 

7 (2) to advance debt restructuring and debt sus8 tainability measures; 

9 (3) to restore the production and efficient man10 agement of Venezuela’s oil industry, including re11 building energy infrastructure; 

12 (4) to eliminate price controls and market dis13 torting subsidies in the Venezuelan economy; and 

14 (5) to address hyperinflation in Venezuela. 

15 (c) CONSULTATION.—In creating the framework 

16 under subsection (a), the Secretary of Treasury, the Sec17 retary of State, and the Secretary of Energy shall consult 

18 with relevant stakeholders in the humanitarian, financial 

19 and energy sectors. 

20 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that any effort to conduct debt restructuring 

22 should— 

23 (1) include discussions with China, which is 

24 Venezuela’s biggest creditor; and 


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1 (2) appropriately account for China’s and Rus2 sia’s high-risk lending to Venezuela. 

3 (e) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Treasury may 

4 not support lending or financing from the International 

5 Monetary Fund and the Multilateral Development Banks 

6 until the Secretary of State submits a report to the Com7 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and Committee 

8 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives certi9 fying that the Government of Venezuela is committed to— 

10 (1) restoring democracy and the rule of law; 

11 (2) freeing political prisoners; 

12 (3) facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid; 

13 and 

14 (4) establishing conditions for free and fair 

15 democratic elections. 

16 (f) BRIEFINGS.—Upon a request from the Committee 

17 on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on 

18 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Com19 mittee on Finance of the Senate, or the Committee on 

20 Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the 

21 Secretary of Treasury shall brief the requesting committee 

22 on the progress made in implementing the framework cre23 ated under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 302. RECOVERING ASSETS STOLEN FROM THE VEN2 EZUELAN PEOPLE. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find4 ings: 

5 (1) Venezuela ranked 169th out of 180 coun6 tries in Transparency International’s Corruption 

7 Perception Index 2017. 

8 (2) In March 2016, the International Center for 

9 Asset Recovery at the Basel Institute on Governance 

10 in Switzerland estimated that approximately 

11 $350,000,000,000 in public funding had been lost in 

12 Venezuela as the result of corruption, fraud, and 

13 graft. 

14 (3) In March 2015, the Department of the 

15 Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

16 determined that approximately $2,000,000,000 had 

17 been siphoned from Venezuela’s public oil company, 

18 Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., in conjunction with its 

19 designation of the Banca Privada d’Andorra as a 

20 Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money 

21 Laundering Concern. 

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi23 nation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attor24 ney General, shall advance a coordinated international ef25 fort— 


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1 (1) to carry out special financial investigations 

2 to identify and track assets taken from the people 

3 and institutions of Venezuela through theft, corrup4 tion, money laundering, or other illicit means; and 

5 (2) work with foreign governments— 

6 (A) to share financial investigations intel7 ligence, as appropriate; 

8 (B) to block the assets identified pursuant 

9 to paragraph (1); and 

10 (C) to advance necessary civil forfeiture 

11 litigation, including providing technical assist12 ance to help governments establish the nec13 essary legal framework to carry out asset for14 feitures. 

15 (c) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The coordinated inter16 national effort described in subsection (b) shall— 

17 (1) include input from— 

18 (A) the Office of Foreign Assets Control of 

19 the Department of the Treasury; 

20 (B) the Financial Crimes Enforcement 

21 Network of the Department of the Treasury; 

22 and 

23 (C) the Money Laundering and Asset Re24 covery Section of the Department of Justice; 


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1 (2) identify appropriate steps to advance nec2 essary civil forfeiture litigation in the United States; 

3 (3) include an assessment of whether the 

4 United States or another member of the inter5 national community should establish a managed 

6 fund to hold the assets identified pursuant to sub7 section (b)(1) that could be returned to a future 

8 democratic government in Venezuela; and 

9 (4) include recommendations for new legislative 

10 and regulatory measures in the United States that 

11 would be needed to establish and manage the fund 

12 described in paragraph (3). 

13 (d) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec15 retary of State shall submit a strategy for carrying out 

16 the activities described in subsection (b) to— 

17 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

18 Senate; 

19 (2) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

20 (3) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen21 ate; 

22 (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives; 

24 (5) the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

25 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (e) BRIEFINGS.—Upon a request from 1 of the con4 gressional committees listed in subsection (d), the Sec5 retary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, or the At6 torney General shall brief the requesting committee on the 

7 progress made in implementing the effort described in 

8 subsection (b). 

9 TITLE IV—RESTORING THE 

10 RULE OF LAW IN VENEZUELA 

11 SEC. 401. PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT SANCTIONED OFFI12 CIALS. 

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

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 

15 thereafter, except as provided in subsection (c), the Sec16 retary of Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

17 State, shall submit a report to Congress that describes the 

18 total assessed value of blocked assets of Venezuelans des19 ignated under sanctions authorized under— 

20 (1) the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation 

21 Act (title VIII of Public Law 106–120; 21 U.S.C. 

22 1901 et seq.); 

23 (2) the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights 

24 and Civil Society Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 

25 278); or 


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1 (3) Executive Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

2 note). 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—Reports submitted 

4 under subsection (a) should provide descriptions of specific 

5 cases that are most representative of the endemic corrup6 tion and illicit financial activities occurring in Venezuela. 

7 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—The Secretary of 

8 Treasury is not required to submit an updated report to 

9 Congress under subsection (a) unless, since the submission 

10 of the preceding report— 

11 (1) there has been meaningful change in the 

12 value of blocked assets; or 

13 (2) additional individuals have been targeted for 

14 sanctions under the authorities listed in subsection 

15 (a). 

16 (d) BRIEFINGS.—If the Secretary of Treasury exer17 cises the exception described in subsection (c), the Sec18 retary of the Treasury, or designee, shall brief Congress 

19 on— 

20 (1) the decision to exercise the exception; and 

21 (2) information related to the value of blocked 

22 assets described in subsection (a). 

23 (e) FORM.—Reports required under this section shall 

24 be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a clas25 sified annex. 


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1 SEC. 402. COORDINATING TARGETED SANCTIONS WITH 

2 PARTNERS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE 

3 AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. 

4 (a) STRENGTHENING SANCTIONS CAPACITY IN LATIN

5 AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.—The Secretary of State, 

6 working through the Assistant Secretary of State for Eco7 nomic and Business Affairs and the Assistant Secretary 

8 of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement 

9 Affairs, and in coordination with the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury, shall provide technical assistance to partner 

11 governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to assist 

12 such governments in establishing the legislative and regu13 latory frameworks needed to impose targeted sanctions on 

14 Venezuelan officials who— 

15 (1) are responsible for human rights abuses; 

16 (2) have engaged in public corruption; or 

17 (3) are undermining democratic institutions and 

18 processes in Venezuela. 

19 (b) COORDINATING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS.— 

20 The Secretary of State shall engage in diplomatic efforts 

21 with partner governments, including the Government of 

22 Canada, governments in the European Union, and govern23 ments in Latin America and the Caribbean, to impose tar24 geted sanctions on Venezuelan officials described in sub25 section (a). 


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1 (c) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of State shall submit a strategy for carrying out 

4 the activities described in subsection (a) to— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

6 Senate; 

7 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

10 House of Representatives; and 

11 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 House of Representatives. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

15 appropriated, to the International Narcotics Control 

16 and Law Enforcement account, $3,000,000 for fiscal 

17 year 2019 to carry out the activities set forth in sub18 section (a) in accordance with this section. 

19 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

21 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 

22 or otherwise made available pursuant to para23 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

24 after the date on which the President provides 


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1 notice to the committees listed in subsection (c) 

2 of intent to obligate such funds. 

3 (B) WAIVER.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

5 State may waive the requirement under 

6 subparagraph (A) if the Secretary of State 

7 determines that such waiver is in the na8 tional interest of the United States. 

9 (ii) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—If 

10 a waiver is invoked under clause (i), the 

11 President shall notify the committees listed 

12 in subsection (c) of the intention to obli13 gate funds under this section as early as 

14 practicable, but not later than 3 days after 

15 taking the action to which such notification 

16 requirement was applicable in the context 

17 of the circumstances necessitating such 

18 waiver. 

19 (e) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Assistant Sec20 retary of State for International Narcotics and Law En21 forcement Affairs may transfer funding to the Assistant 

22 Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, as 

23 necessary, to implement the strategy described in sub24 section (c). 


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1 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu3 ally thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

4 the Secretary of Treasury, shall brief the Committee on 

5 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Bank6 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Com7 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, 

8 and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

9 Representatives that provides an assessment of the efforts 

10 to strengthen sanctions capabilities and coordinate inter11 national sanctions in accordance with this section. 

12 SEC. 403. FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELAN GOV13 ERNMENT DEBT. 

14 (a) FINDING.—Executive Order 13808 (82 Fed. Reg. 

15 41155), which was signed on August 24, 2017, established 

16 sanctions against the Government of Venezuela’s ability 

17 to issue public debt. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part20 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora21 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

22 (2) GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA.—The term 

23 ‘‘Government of Venezuela’’ means the Government 

24 of Venezuela, any political subdivision, agency, or in25 strumentality of such government, including the 


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1 Central Bank of Venezuela and Petro ́leos de Ven2 ezuela, S.A., and any person owned or controlled by, 

3 or acting for or on behalf of, such government. 

4 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in5 dividual or entity. 

6 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

7 ‘‘United States person’’ means any— 

8 (A) United States citizen; 

9 (B) alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

10 residence to the United States; 

11 (C) entity organized under the laws of the 

12 United States or any jurisdiction within the 

13 United States (including a foreign branch of 

14 any such entity); and 

15 (D) any person physically located in the 

16 United States. 

17 (c) IN GENERAL.—The President may prohibit, in 

18 the United States or by a United States person— 

19 (1) any transaction related to, provision of fi20 nancing for, or other dealing in— 

21 (A) debt instruments with a maturity of 

22 greater than 90 days issued by Petro ́leos de 

23 Venezuela, S.A., on or after the date of the en24 actment of this Act; 


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1 (B) debt instruments with a maturity of 

2 greater than 30 days or equity issued by the 

3 Government of Venezuela on or after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, excluding debt in5 struments issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

6 S.A., that are not covered under subparagraph 

7 (A); 

8 (C) bonds issued by the Government of 

9 Venezuela before the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act; or 

11 (D) dividend payments or other distribu12 tions of profits to the Government of Venezuela 

13 from any entity owned or controlled, directly or 

14 indirectly, by the Government of Venezuela; 

15 (2) the direct or indirect purchase of securities 

16 from the Government of Venezuela, except for— 

17 (A) securities qualifying as debt instru18 ments issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., 

19 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act that are not described in paragraph (1)(A); 

21 and 

22 (B) securities qualifying as debt instru23 ments issued by the Government of Venezuela 

24 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act that are not described in paragraph (1)(B); 


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1 (3) any transaction that evades or avoids, has 

2 the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a viola3 tion of, or attempts to violate a prohibition under 

4 paragraph (1) or (2); and 

5 (4) any conspiracy to violate a prohibition 

6 under paragraph (1), (2), or (3). 

7 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the President should waive the prohibitions de9 scribed in subsection (c) if the related debt instruments, 

10 bonds, or securities have been approved or ratified by the 

11 democratically elected National Assembly of the 

12 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 

13 (e) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

14 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex15 ercise all authorities described in sections 203 and 

16 205 of the International Emergency Economic Pow17 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this 

18 section. 

19 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at20 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

21 violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

22 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

23 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

24 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco25 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Dec 12, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7245.IH H7245

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1 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de2 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

3 SEC. 404. EXCEPTIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term 

6 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given 

7 that term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade 

8 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 

9 (2) GOOD.—The term ‘‘good’’ has the meaning 

10 given that term in section 16 of the Export Adminis11 tration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4618) (as continued 

12 in effect pursuant to the International Emergency 

13 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)). 

14 (3) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘‘medical de15 vice’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘device’’ in 

16 section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos17 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 

18 (4) MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘medicine’’ has the 

19 meaning given the term ‘‘drug’’ in section 201 of the 

20 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

21 321). 

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—The conduct or facilitation of a 

23 transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, 

24 medicine, or medical devices to Venezuela or for the provi25 sion of humanitarian assistance to the people of VenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Dec 12, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7245.IH H7245

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1 ezuela, including engaging in a financial transaction relat2 ing to humanitarian assistance or for humanitarian pur3 poses or transporting goods or services that are necessary 

4 to carry out operations relating to humanitarian assist5 ance or humanitarian purposes, regardless of whether the 

6 transactions or provision of humanitarian assistance origi7 nate in, or have a connection to, the United States, shall 

8 be exempt from sanctions described in sections 402, 405, 

9 406, and 501 of this Act, the Venezuela Defense of 

10 Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 (Public Law 

11 113–278); and Executive Orders 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

12 note), 13808, 13827, and 13835. 

13 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out this Act, the 

14 President may exercise all authorities provided under sec15 tions 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Eco16 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704). 

17 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

18 may be construed to limit the authority of the President 

19 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

20 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 


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1 TITLE V—CRYPTOCURRENCY 

2 SANCTIONS AND ENSURING 

3 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

4 UNITED STATES SANCTIONS 

5 SEC. 501. SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELA’S CRYPTOCURRENCY 

6 AND THE PROVISION OF RELATED TECH7 NOLOGIES. 

8 (a) FINDING.—Executive Order 13827 (83 Fed. Reg. 

9 12469), which was signed on March 19, 2018, established 

10 sanctions against the Government of Venezuela’s ability 

11 to issue a digital currency in an effort to circumvent 

12 United States sanctions. 

13 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part15 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora16 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

17 (2) GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA.—The term 

18 ‘‘Government of Venezuela’’ means the Government 

19 of Venezuela, any political subdivision, agency, or in20 strumentality of such government, including the 

21 Central Bank of Venezuela and Petro ́leos de Ven22 ezuela, S.A., and any person owned or controlled by, 

23 or acting for or on behalf of, such government. 

24 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in25 dividual or entity. 


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1 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

2 ‘‘United States person’’ means any— 

3 (A) United States citizen; 

4 (B) alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

5 residence to the United States; 

6 (C) entity organized under the laws of the 

7 United States or any jurisdiction within the 

8 United States (including a foreign branch of 

9 any such entity); and 

10 (D) any person physically located in the 

11 United States. 

12 (c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—All transactions by a United 

14 States person or within the United States that relate 

15 to, provide financing for, provide software for, or 

16 otherwise deal in any digital currency, digital coin, 

17 or digital token, that was issued by, for, or on behalf 

18 of the Government of Venezuela are prohibited be19 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The prohibitions under 

21 paragraph (1) shall apply to the extent provided by 

22 statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or li23 censes that may be issued pursuant to this Act, and 

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1 cense or permit granted before the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (3) PROHIBITIONS.—Any transaction that 

4 evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or 

5 avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate 

6 any of the prohibitions set forth in this subsection 

7 is prohibited. Any conspiracy formed to violate any 

8 of the prohibitions set forth in this subsection is pro9 hibited. 

10 (d) RULEMAKING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas12 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is 

13 authorized to take such actions, including promul14 gating rules and regulations, to implement this sec15 tion. 

16 (2) DELEGATION.—The Secretary of the Treas17 ury may redelegate any of the functions described in 

18 paragraph (1) to other officers and executive depart19 ments and agencies of the United States Govern20 ment. All agencies of the United States Government 

21 shall take all appropriate measures within their au22 thority to carry out the provisions of this section. 


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1 SEC. 502. REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF 

2 CRYPTOCURRENCIES ON UNITED STATES 

3 SANCTIONS. 

4 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap5 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

7 Senate; 

8 (2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

9 Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

10 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

11 House of Representatives; and 

12 (4) the Committee on Financial Services of the 

13 House of Representatives. 

14 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of 

17 the Treasury, the Chairman of the Securities and Ex18 change Commission, and the Chairman of the Commodity 

19 Futures Trading Commission, shall submit a report to the 

20 appropriate congressional committees that provides an as21 sessment on how digital currencies affect the effectiveness 

22 of United States sanctions around the world. 

23 (c) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The report submitted 

24 under subsection (b) shall— 

25 (1) describe any global efforts, including efforts 

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1 sponsored actors, to utilize digital currencies to 

2 evade or circumvent United States sanctions, includ3 ing through the direct or indirect use of products or 

4 services of United States based technology, software, 

5 or financial services firms; and 

6 (2) include recommendations for new legislative 

7 and regulatory measures needed to strengthen the 

8 United States Government’s ability to prevent 

9 states, state-sponsored actors, and non-state-spon10 sored actors from using digital currencies to evade 

11 or circumvent United States sanctions, including 

12 through the direct or indirect use of products or 

13 services of United States based technology, software, 

14 or financial services firms. 

15 (d) FORM.—The report submitted under subsection 

16 (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in17 clude a classified annex. 

18 TITLE VI—TERMINATION 

19 SEC. 601. EXTENSION AND TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS 

20 AGAINST VENEZUELA. 

21 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 5(e) of the Venezuela De22 fense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 

23 (Public Law 113–278; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem25 ber 31, 2025’’. 


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1 (b) TERMINATION.—The requirement to impose sanc2 tions under this Act shall terminate on December 31, 

3 2025. 

Æ 


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