II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1025 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

GRAHAM, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. COONS, Mr. CASSIDY, and 

Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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 TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and 

4 Development Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VERDAD Act of 

5 2019’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Defined term. 

TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA AND RECOGNITION OF THE VENEZUELAN NATIONAL 

ASSEMBLY 

Sec. 101. Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of 

Venezuela. 

Sec. 102. Recognition of Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly. 

Sec. 103. Advancing a negotiated solution to Venezuela’s crisis. 

TITLE II—HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA 

Sec. 201. Humanitarian relief for the Venezuelan people. 

Sec. 202. Humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans in neighboring countries. 

Sec. 203. Requirement for strategy to coordinate international humanitarian 

assistance. 

Sec. 204. Support for efforts at the United Nations on the humanitarian crisis 

in Venezuela. 

Sec. 205. Sanctions exceptions for humanitarian assistance. 

TITLE III—ADDRESSING REGIME COHESION 

Sec. 301. Classified report on declining cohesion inside the Venezuelan military 

and the Maduro regime. 

Sec. 302. Additional restrictions on visas. 

Sec. 303. Waiver for sanctioned officials that recognize the Interim President 

of Venezuela. 

TITLE IV—RESTORING DEMOCRACY AND ADDRESSING THE 

POLITICAL CRISIS IN VENEZUELA 

Sec. 401. Special Envoy for Venezuela and Task Force on Venezuela. 

Sec. 402. Support for the Lima Group. 

Sec. 403. Accountability for crimes against humanity. 

Sec. 404. Upholding the Organization of American States Inter-American 

Democratic Charter. 

Sec. 405. Support for international election observation and democratic civil society. 

TITLE V—SUPPORTING THE RECONSTRUCTION OF VENEZUELA 


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Sec. 501. Engaging international financial institutions to advance the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy and energy infrastructure. 

Sec. 502. Recovering assets stolen from the Venezuelan people. 

TITLE VI—RESTORING THE RULE OF LAW IN VENEZUELA 

Sec. 601. Developing and implementing a coordinated sanctions strategy with 

partners in the Western Hemisphere and the European Union. 

Sec. 602. Classified briefing on the involvement of Venezuelan officials in corruption and illicit narcotics trafficking. 

Sec. 603. Sanctions on persons responsible for public corruption and undermining democratic governance. 

Sec. 604. Public information about sanctioned officials. 

Sec. 605. Financial sanctions on Maduro regime debt. 

Sec. 606. Additional financial sanctions on Maduro regime debt. 

Sec. 607. Expanding kingpin sanctions on narcotics trafficking and money 

laundering. 

Sec. 608. Sanctions on the Maduro regime’s trade in gold. 

Sec. 609. Concerns over PDVSA transactions with Rosneft. 

Sec. 610. Classified briefing on activities of certain foreign governments and actors in Venezuela. 

TITLE VII—CRYPTOCURRENCY SANCTIONS AND ENSURING THE 

EFFECTIVENESS OF UNITED STATES SANCTIONS 

Sec. 701. Sanctions on Venezuela’s cryptocurrency and the provision of related 

technologies. 

Sec. 702. Report on the impact of cryptocurrencies on United States sanctions. 

TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 801. Congressional briefings. 

Sec. 802. Extension and termination of sanctions against Venezuela. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Maduro regime’’ means any 

3 ministry, agency, political subdivision, or instrumentality 

4 of the Government of Venezuela, including the Central 

5 Bank of Venezuela and Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., any 

6 branch of the Venezuelan armed forces, and any person 

7 owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the 

8 Government of Venezuela that remain under the control 

9 of Nicola ́s Maduro or the subsequent control of a person 

10 that comes to power through any means other than— 


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1 (1) a free, fair, and transparent democratic 

2 election that is monitored by credible international 

3 observers; or 

4 (2) the appointment by Venezuela’s democrat5 ically elected National Assembly of an Interim Presi6 dent with a mandate to convene elections described 

7 in paragraph (1); and 

8 (3) a negotiation process described in section 

9 103. 

10 TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR THE IN11 TERIM PRESIDENT OF VEN12 EZUELA AND RECOGNITION 

13 OF THE VENEZUELAN NA14 TIONAL ASSEMBLY 

15 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF 

16 THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

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

20 2018, was characterized by widespread fraud and 

21 did not comply with international standards for a 

22 free, fair, and transparent electoral process. 

23 (2) Given the fraudulent nature of Venezuela’s 

24 May 20, 2018, electoral event, Nicola ́s Maduro’s tenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1025.IS S1025

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1 ure as President of Venezuela ended on January 10, 

2 2019. 

3 (3) The National Assembly of Venezuela ap4 proved a resolution on January 15, 2019, that ter5 minated Nicola ́s Maduro’s authority as the President 

6 of Venezuela. 

7 (4) On January 23, 2019, the President of the 

8 National Assembly of Venezuela was sworn in as the 

9 Interim President of Venezuela. 

10 (5) The United States Government, the Govern11 ments of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, 

12 Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Can13 ada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, 

14 Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ec15 uador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, 

16 Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, 

17 Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxem18 bourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Mo19 rocco, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Po20 land, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Swe21 den, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, 

22 the Secretary General of the Organization of Amer23 ican States, and the European Parliament have all 

24 recognized National Assembly President Juan 

25 Guaido ́ as the Interim President of Venezuela. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress— 

3 (1) to support the decisions by the United 

4 States Government, more than 50 governments 

5 around the world, the Secretary General of the Or6 ganization of American States, and the European 

7 Parliament to recognize National Assembly Presi8 dent Juan Guaido ́ as the Interim President of Ven9 ezuela; 

10 (2) to encourage the Interim President of Ven11 ezuela to advance efforts to hold democratic presi12 dential elections in the shortest possible period; and 

13 (3) that the Organization of American States, 

14 with support from the United States Government 

15 and partner governments, should provide diplomatic, 

16 technical, and financial support for a new presi17 dential election in Venezuela that complies with 

18 international standards for a free, fair, and trans19 parent electoral processes. 

20 SEC. 102. RECOGNITION OF VENEZUELA’S DEMOCRAT21 ICALLY ELECTED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that Venezuela’s uni23 cameral National Assembly convened on January 6, 2016, 

24 following democratic elections that were held on December 

25 6, 2015. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that— 

3 (1) Venezuela’s democratically elected National 

4 Assembly is the only national level democratic insti5 tution remaining in the country; and 

6 (2) actions taken by the Maduro regime that re7 quire legislative approval, ratification, or concur8 rence, including the provision or refinancing of 

9 debts, should only be recognized as legitimate by the 

10 United States and the international community if 

11 such legislative actions are authorized by the demo12 cratically elected National Assembly of the 

13 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 

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

15 recognize the democratically elected National Assembly of 

16 Venezuela as the only legitimate national legislative body 

17 in Venezuela. 

18 (d) ASSISTANCE TO VENEZUELA’S NATIONAL ASSEM19 BLY.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

20 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter21 national Development, shall prioritize efforts to provide 

22 technical assistance to support the democratically elected 

23 National Assembly of Venezuela in accordance with sec24 tion 406. 


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1 SEC. 103. ADVANCING A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO VEN2 EZUELA’S CRISIS. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) direct, credible negotiations led by the In6 terim President of Venezuela and members of Ven7 ezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly— 

8 (A) are supported by stakeholders in the 

9 international community that have recognized 

10 the Interim President of Venezuela; 

11 (B) include the input and interests of Ven12 ezuelan civil society; and 

13 (C) represent the best opportunity to reach 

14 a solution to the Venezuelan crisis that in15 cludes— 

16 (i) holding a new presidential election 

17 that complies with international standards 

18 for a free, fair, and transparent electoral 

19 process; 

20 (ii) ending Nicola ́s Maduro’s usurpa21 tion of presidential authorities; 

22 (iii) restoring democracy and the rule 

23 of law; 

24 (iv) freeing political prisoners; and 

25 (v) facilitating the delivery of humani26 tarian aid; 


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1 (2) dialogue between the Maduro regime and 

2 political opposition that commenced in October 

3 2017, and were supported by the Governments of 

4 Mexico, of Chile, of Bolivia, and of Nicaragua, did 

5 not result in an agreement because the Maduro re6 gime failed to credibly participate in the process; 

7 and 

8 (3) negotiations between the Maduro regime 

9 and political opposition that commenced in October 

10 2016, and were supported by the Vatican, did not 

11 result in an agreement because the Maduro regime 

12 failed to credibly participate in the process. 

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

14 support diplomatic engagement in order to advance a ne15 gotiated and peaceful solution to Venezuela’s political, eco16 nomic, and humanitarian crisis that is described in sub17 section (a)(1). 

18 TITLE II—HUMANITARIAN 

19 RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA 

20 SEC. 201. HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR THE VENEZUELAN 

21 PEOPLE. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 


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1 (1) the United States Government should ex2 pand efforts to peacefully address Venezuela’s hu3 manitarian crisis; and 

4 (2) humanitarian assistance— 

5 (A) should be provided directly to the peo6 ple of Venezuela; and 

7 (B) should not be passed through the con8 trol or distribution mechanisms of the Maduro 

9 regime. 

10 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi11 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen12 cy for International Development, shall work through 

13 international and nongovernmental organizations to pro14 vide humanitarian assistance to individuals and commu15 nities in Venezuela, including— 

16 (1) public health commodities to Venezuelan 

17 health facilities and services, including medicines on 

18 the World Health Organization’s Model List of Es19 sential Medicines and basic medical supplies and 

20 equipment; 

21 (2) the basic food commodities and nutritional 

22 supplements needed to address growing malnutrition 

23 and improve food security for the people of Ven24 ezuela, with a specific emphasis on the most vulner25 able populations; and 


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1 (3) technical assistance to ensure that health 

2 and food commodities are appropriately selected, 

3 procured, and distributed. 

4 (c) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of State, in coordination with the Adminis8 trator of the United States Agency for International 

9 Development shall submit a strategy for carrying out 

10 the activities described in subsection (b) to— 

11 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

12 the Senate; 

13 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

16 the House of Representatives; and 

17 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

18 the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The strategy re20 quired under paragraph (1) shall be based on inde21 pendent assessments of the humanitarian crisis in 

22 Venezuela, including assessments by nongovern23 mental organizations and the United Nations hu24 manitarian agencies listed in section 204(a). 

25 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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

2 appropriated to the Secretary of State $200,000,000 

3 for fiscal year 2019 to carry out the activities set 

4 forth in subsection (b) in accordance with this sec5 tion. 

6 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

8 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 

9 or otherwise made available pursuant to para10 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

11 after the date on which the President provides 

12 notice to the committees listed in subsection 

13 (c)(1) of the intent to obligate such funds. 

14 (B) WAIVER.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

16 State may waive the requirement under 

17 subparagraph (A) if the Secretary of State 

18 determines that such requirement would 

19 pose a substantial risk to human health or 

20 welfare. 

21 (ii) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—If 

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

23 President shall notify the committees listed 

24 in subsection (c)(1) of the intention to obli25 gate funds under this section as early as 


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1 practicable, but not later than 3 days after 

2 taking the action to which such notification 

3 requirement was applicable in the context 

4 of the circumstances necessitating such 

5 waiver. 

6 SEC. 202. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO VENEZUELANS 

7 IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi9 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen10 cy for International Development, shall work through 

11 international and nongovernmental organizations to pro12 vide Venezuelans in neighboring countries with humani13 tarian aid, such as— 

14 (1) urgently needed health and nutritional as15 sistance, including logistical and technical assistance 

16 to hospitals and health centers in affected commu17 nities; 

18 (2) food assistance for vulnerable individuals, 

19 including assistance to improve food security for af20 fected communities; and 

21 (3) hygiene supplies and sanitation services. 

22 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The assistance de23 scribed in subsection (a)— 

24 (1) may be provided— 


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1 (A) directly to Venezuelans in neighboring 

2 countries; or 

3 (B) indirectly through the communities in 

4 which the Venezuelans reside; and 

5 (2) should focus on the most vulnerable Ven6 ezuelans in neighboring countries. 

7 (c) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—The strategy re8 quired under section 201(c) shall include a strategy for 

9 carrying out the activities described in subsection (a). 

10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

12 appropriated to the Secretary of State $200,000,000 

13 for fiscal year 2019 to carry out the activities set 

14 forth in subsection (a) in accordance with this sec15 tion. 

16 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

18 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 

19 or otherwise made available pursuant to para20 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

21 after the date on which the President provides 

22 notice to the committees listed in section 

23 201(c)(1) of the intent to obligate such funds. 

24 (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 committees listed 

10 in section 201(c)(1) of the intention to ob11 ligate funds under this section as early as 

12 practicable, but not later than 3 days after 

13 taking the action to which such notification 

14 requirement was applicable in the context 

15 of the circumstances necessitating such 

16 waiver. 

17 SEC. 203. REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY TO COORDINATE 

18 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ASSIST19 ANCE. 

20 (a) STRATEGY.—The strategy required under section 

21 201(c) shall include a multiyear strategy that— 

22 (1) describes United States diplomatic efforts to 

23 ensure support from international donors, including 

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1 bean, for the provision of humanitarian assistance to 

2 the people of Venezuela; 

3 (2) identifies governments that are willing to 

4 provide financial and technical assistance for the 

5 provision of such humanitarian assistance to the 

6 people of Venezuela and a description of such assist7 ance; and 

8 (3) identifies the financial and technical assist9 ance to be provided by multilateral institutions, in10 cluding the United Nations humanitarian agencies 

11 listed in section 104(a), the Pan American Health 

12 Organization, the Inter-American Development 

13 Bank, and the World Bank, and a description of 

14 such assistance. 

15 (b) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT.—The Secretary of 

16 State, in consultation with the Administrator of the 

17 United States Agency for International Development, shall 

18 work with relevant foreign governments and multilateral 

19 organizations to coordinate a donors summit and carry out 

20 diplomatic engagement to advance the strategy described 

21 in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 204. SUPPORT FOR EFFORTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS 

2 ON THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN VENEZU3 ELA. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the United Nations humanitarian agencies, in6 cluding the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 

7 Affairs, the World Health Organization, the Pan Amer8 ican Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Orga9 nization, UNICEF, and the United Nations High Com10 missioner for Refugees, should conduct and publish inde11 pendent assessments regarding— 

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

13 food, medicine, and medical supplies in Venezuela; 

14 (2) basic health indicators in Venezuela, such 

15 as maternal and child mortality rates and the preva16 lence and treatment of communicable diseases; and 

17 (3) the efforts needed to resolve the shortages 

18 identified in paragraph (1) and to improve the 

19 health indicators referred to in paragraph (2). 

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

21 the Permanent Representative of the United States to the 

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

23 States in the United Nations Security Council to secure 

24 the necessary votes— 


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1 (1) to place the humanitarian and political cri2 sis in Venezuela on the United Nations Security 

3 Council’s Programme of Work; and 

4 (2) to secure a Presidential Statement from the 

5 President of the United Nations Security Council 

6 urging the Maduro regime— 

7 (A) to allow the delivery of humanitarian 

8 relief; and 

9 (B) to lift bureaucratic impediments or 

10 any other obstacles preventing independent non11 governmental organizations from providing the 

12 proper assistance to the people of Venezuela 

13 without any interference by the Maduro regime. 

14 (c) UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN COORDI15 NATOR.—The President shall instruct the Permanent Rep16 resentative to the United Nations to use the voice and in17 fluence of the United States to advance the appointment 

18 of a United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ven19 ezuela to lead and coordinate the efforts of humanitarian 

20 organizations in a manner that contributes to Venezuela’s 

21 long-term recovery. 

22 (d) ADDITIONAL EFFORTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Maduro regime re24 fuses to allow the delivery of humanitarian relief and 

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1 stacles described in subsection (b)(2)(B), the Presi2 dent, beginning not later than 30 days after the con3 clusion of the efforts of the United Nations de4 scribed in such subsection, shall instruct the Perma5 nent Representative of the United States to the 

6 United Nations to use the voice and vote of the 

7 United States to secure the adoption of a resolution 

8 described in paragraph (2). 

9 (2) RESOLUTION DESCRIBED.—The resolution 

10 described in this paragraph is a Resolution of the 

11 United Nations Security Council that— 

12 (A) requires the Maduro regime to prompt13 ly allow safe and unhindered access for humani14 tarian agencies and their implementing part15 ners, including possible support from neigh16 boring countries; and 

17 (B) calls on the Maduro regime— 

18 (i) to allow the delivery of food and 

19 medicine to the people of Venezuela; 

20 (ii) to end human rights violations 

21 against the people of Venezuela; 

22 (iii) to agree to free, fair, and trans23 parent elections with credible international 

24 observers; 


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1 (iv) to cease violence against the peo2 ple of Venezuela; and 

3 (v) to release all political prisoners 

4 held by the Maduro regime. 

5 SEC. 205. SANCTIONS EXCEPTIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN AS6 SISTANCE. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term 

9 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given 

10 that term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade 

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

12 (2) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘‘medical de13 vice’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘device’’ in 

14 section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos15 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 

16 (3) MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘medicine’’ has the 

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

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

19 321). 

20 (b) IN GENERAL.—Any transaction for the sale of ag21 ricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices 

22 to Venezuela or for the provision of humanitarian assist23 ance to the people of Venezuela, and any transaction that 

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1 tarian assistance originate in, or have a connection to, the 

2 United States, shall be exempt from United States sanc3 tions, including sanctions described in— 

4 (1) sections 603, 605, 606, 608, and 701; 

5 (2) the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights 

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

7 278); or 

8 (3) Executive Orders 13692, 13808, 13827, 

9 13835, 13850, and 13857. 

10 TITLE III—ADDRESSING REGIME 

11 COHESION 

12 SEC. 301. CLASSIFIED REPORT ON DECLINING COHESION 

13 INSIDE THE VENEZUELAN MILITARY AND 

14 THE MADURO REGIME. 

15 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of State, acting through the Bureau of Intelligence 

18 and Research, and in coordination with the Director of 

19 National Intelligence, shall submit a classified report to 

20 the appropriate congressional committees that assesses 

21 the declining cohesion inside the Venezuelan military and 

22 security forces and the Maduro regime. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The report submitted 

24 under subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (1) identify senior members of the Venezuelan 

2 military and the Maduro regime, including generals, 

3 admirals, cabinet ministers, deputy cabinet min4 isters, and the heads of intelligence agencies, whose 

5 loyalty to Nicola ́s Maduro is declining; 

6 (2) describe the factors that would accelerate 

7 the decision making of individuals identified in para8 graph (1)— 

9 (A) to break with the Maduro regime; and 

10 (B) to recognize the Interim President of 

11 Venezuela and his government; and 

12 (3) assess and detail the massive number of de13 sertions and defections that have occurred at the of14 ficer and enlisted levels inside the Venezuelan mili15 tary and security forces. 

16 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

17 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means— 

19 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

20 Senate; 

21 (2) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

22 Senate; 

23 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

24 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (4) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel2 ligence of the House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON VISAS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall im5 pose the visa restrictions described in subsection (c) on 

6 any current or former official of the Maduro regime, or 

7 any foreign person acting on behalf of such regime, who 

8 the Secretary determines— 

9 (1) is responsible for, is complicit in, is respon10 sible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, 

11 or is knowingly participating in (directly or indi12 rectly) any activity in or in relation to Venezuela, on 

13 or after January 23, 2019, that undermines or 

14 threatens the integrity of— 

15 (A) the democratically elected National As16 sembly of Venezuela; or 

17 (B) the President of such National Assem18 bly, while serving as Interim President of Ven19 ezuela, or the government officials under the 

20 supervision of such President; 

21 (2) is the spouse or child of a foreign person 

22 described in paragraph (1); or 

23 (3) is the spouse or child of a foreign person 

24 described or identified under— 


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1 (A) section 5(a) of the Venezuela Defense 

2 of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 

3 (Public Law 113–278), as amended by section 

4 603 of this Act; 

5 (B) section 804(b) of the Foreign Nar6 cotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 

7 1903(b)); or 

8 (C) Executive Orders 13692 (50 U.S.C. 

9 1701 note) and 13850. 

10 (b) REMOVAL FROM VISA REVOCATION LIST.—If a 

11 person described in subsection (a)(1) or in subparagraphs 

12 (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(3) publicly recognizes 

13 and pledges supports for the Interim President of Ven14 ezuela and the government officials supervised by such In15 terim President, any family members of such person who 

16 were subject to visa restrictions pursuant to paragraph (2) 

17 or (3) of such subsection shall no longer be subject to such 

18 visa restrictions. 

19 (c) VISA RESTRICTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

20 (1) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES

21 AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER DOCUMENTA22 TION.—Subject to paragraph (2) and subsection (b), 

23 an alien described in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) is inadmissible to the United States; 


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1 (B) is ineligible to receive a visa or other 

2 documentation authorizing entry into the 

3 United States; 

4 (C) is otherwise ineligible to be admitted or 

5 paroled into the United States or to receive any 

6 benefit under the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.); and 

8 (D) shall, in accordance with section 221(i) 

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1201(i)), have his or her visa or other 

11 documentation revoked, regardless of when the 

12 visa or other documentation was issued. 

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

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

16 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 (d) RULEMAKING.—The President shall issue such 

24 regulations, licenses, and orders as may be necessary to 

25 carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 303. WAIVER FOR SANCTIONED OFFICIALS THAT REC2 OGNIZE THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VEN3 EZUELA. 

4 (a) REMOVAL FROM VISA REVOCATION LIST.—If a 

5 person sanctioned under any of the provisions of law de6 scribed in subsection (b) publicly recognizes and pledges 

7 supports for the Interim President of Venezuela and the 

8 government officials supervised by such Interim President, 

9 the person shall no longer be subject to such sanctions. 

10 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de11 scribed in this subsection are set forth in the following 

12 provisions of law: 

13 (1)(A) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 5(a) 

14 of the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil 

15 Society Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–278), as 

16 amended by section 603 of this Act. 

17 (B) Paragraph (5) of section 5(a) of such Act, 

18 to the extent such paragraph relates to the sanctions 

19 described in paragraph (3) or (4) of such subsection. 

20 (2)(A) Clauses (1) and (4) of section 1(a)(ii)(A) 

21 of Executive Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note). 

22 (B) Subparagraph (D)(2) of section 1(a)(ii) of 

23 such Executive Order, to the extent such subpara24 graph relates to the provisions of law cited in sub25 paragraph (A). 


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1 (3)(A) Section 1(a)(ii) of Executive Order 

2 13850. 

3 (B) Paragraph (iii) of section 1(a) of such Ex4 ecutive Order, to the extent such paragraph relates 

5 to the provision of law cited in subparagraph (A). 

6 (c) RULEMAKING.—The President shall issue such 

7 regulations, licenses, and orders as may be necessary to 

8 carry out this section. 

9 TITLE IV—RESTORING DEMOC10 RACY AND ADDRESSING THE 

11 POLITICAL CRISIS IN VEN12 EZUELA 

13 SEC. 401. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR VENEZUELA AND TASK 

14 FORCE ON VENEZUELA. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 

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

17 shall designate a Special Envoy for Venezuela (referred 

18 to in this section as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), who shall— 

19 (1) have the rank and status of ambassador; 

20 and 

21 (2) report directly to the Secretary of State. 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall— 

23 (1) coordinate United States policy towards 

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1 ment of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, 

2 the Department of Defense, the United States Agen3 cy for International Development, and the intel4 ligence community; 

5 (2) develop and conduct oversight of United 

6 States programs and operations related to Ven7 ezuela, including humanitarian assistance, support 

8 for regional migration systems, and assistance to 

9 democratic actors and independent civil society in 

10 Venezuela; 

11 (3) advance efforts— 

12 (A) to recover the assets described in sec13 tion 502(a)(2) that were stolen from the Ven14 ezuelan people; and 

15 (B) to coordinate sanctions with the 

16 United States partners referred to in section 

17 601; 

18 (4) engage and coordinate policy matters re19 lated to Venezuela with the international community, 

20 including the Organization of American States, the 

21 United Nations and its agencies, the Lima Group, 

22 the European Union, and other governments and or23 ganizations with interest in Venezuela; 

24 (5) engage and coordinate with actors sup25 porting the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, 


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1 including the Venezuelan diaspora and the demo2 cratic political opposition in Venezuela; and 

3 (6) communicate and coordinate engagement 

4 with the Maduro regime. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law, the Special Envoy is authorized to di7 rectly engage with the Maduro regime and its officers. 

8 (d) TASK FORCE ON VENEZUELA.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

10 interagency task force, to be known as the ‘‘Task 

11 Force on Venezuela’’ (referred to in this subsection 

12 as the ‘‘Task Force’’. 

13 (2) MISSION.—The primary mission of the 

14 Task Force is to support the Special Envoy in the 

15 exercise of the duties described in subsection (b). 

16 (3) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall in17 clude representatives of, or liaison officers from, the 

18 Department of State, the Department of the Treas19 ury, the Department of Justice, the Department of 

20 Defense, the United States Agency for International 

21 Development, and the Central Intelligence Agency. 

22 Members of the Task Force shall be selected from 

23 among existing employees of their respective depart24 ments. 


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1 (e) MONTHLY CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 

2 days after being designated under subsection (a), and 

3 every 30 days thereafter, the Special Envoy shall brief and 

4 consult with— 

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 SEC. 402. SUPPORT FOR THE LIMA GROUP. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find15 ings: 

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

17 members include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, 

18 Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Hon19 duras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint Lucia. 

20 (2) The Lima Group— 

21 (A) has recognized National Assembly 

22 President Juan Guaido ́ as the Interim Presi23 dent of Venezuela; 


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1 (B) has reaffirmed the authority of the 

2 democratically elected National Assembly of 

3 Venezuela; 

4 (C) has stated that it does not recognize 

5 the legitimacy of Nicola ́s Maduro’s tenure in of6 fice beyond January 10, 2019; 

7 (D) has stated that it does not recognize 

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

9 presidential election as it did not comply with 

10 international standards for a democratic, free, 

11 fair, and transparent process; 

12 (E) has called on Nicola ́s Maduro to provi13 sionally transfer executive powers to the Na14 tional Assembly of Venezuela until new demo15 cratic elections are held; 

16 (F) has condemned the rupture of the 

17 democratic order in Venezuela; 

18 (G) has called on the Maduro regime to ac19 cept humanitarian assistance in order to ad20 dress the country’s growing economic crisis; and 

21 (H) reiterated its ‘‘conviction that the 

22 transition to democracy must be conducted by 

23 Venezuelans themselves, peacefully and within 

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1 national law, supported by political and diplo2 matic means, without the use of force.’’. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Secretary of State should conduct diplo5 matic engagement in support of efforts by the Lima Group 

6 to restore democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela and 

7 facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the 

8 Venezuelan people. 

9 SEC. 403. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMAN10 ITY. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find12 ings: 

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

14 the Organization of American States stated ‘‘the 

15 systematic attack against the civilian population [of 

16 Venezuela] includes murders, imprisonment and tor17 ture, and it is evident in the eyes of the inter18 national community that we are in the presence of 

19 crimes against humanity.’’. 

20 (2) On September 11, 2017, the United Na21 tions High Commissioner for Human Rights stated 

22 that Venezuelan security forces may have committed 

23 crimes against humanity against protesters and 

24 called for a credible international investigation. 


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

2 Rights Watch documented that Venezuelan security 

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

4 against protesters and, once detained, subjected 

5 them to abuses ranging from severe beatings to tor6 ture involving electric shocks, asphyxiation, and 

7 other techniques. 

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

9 International Criminal Court opened a preliminary 

10 examination of the situation in Venezuela as it re11 lates to Venezuelan security forces using excessive 

12 force against civilians and the political opposition. 

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

14 international experts convened by the Secretary Gen15 eral of the Organization of American States found 

16 that ‘‘there are reasonable grounds that satisfy the 

17 standard of proof required by Article 53 of the 

18 Rome Statute for considering that acts to which the 

19 civilian population of Venezuela was subjected . . . 

20 constitute crimes against humanity’’. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the Secretary of State should conduct robust 

23 diplomatic engagement in support of efforts in Venezuela, 

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

25 accountability for possible crimes against humanity and 


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1 other violations of international humanitarian law and vio2 lations and abuses of human rights. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

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

5 submit a report to Congress that— 

6 (1) evaluates the degree to which the Maduro 

7 regime and its officials, including members of the 

8 Venezuelan security force, have engaged in actions 

9 that constitute crimes against humanity and viola10 tions of internationally recognized humanitarian 

11 rights; and 

12 (2) provides options for holding accountable the 

13 perpetrators identified under paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 404. UPHOLDING THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN 

15 STATES INTER-AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC 

16 CHARTER. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

19 (1) Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic 

20 Charter, which was adopted by the Organization of 

21 American States in Lima on September 11, 2001, 

22 states: ‘‘The peoples of the Americas have a right to 

23 democracy and their governments have an obligation 

24 to promote and defend it.’’. 


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1 (2) Article 19 of the Inter-American Demo2 cratic Charter states ‘‘an unconstitutional interrup3 tion of the democratic order or an unconstitutional 

4 alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously 

5 impairs the democratic order in a member state, 

6 constitutes, while it persists, an insurmountable ob7 stacle to its government’s participation in sessions of 

8 the General Assembly . . . and other bodies of the 

9 Organization.’’. 

10 (3) Article 20 of the Inter-American Demo11 cratic Charter states the following: 

12 (A) ‘‘In the event of an unconstitutional al13 teration of the constitutional regime that seri14 ously impairs the democratic order in a member 

15 state, any member state or the Secretary Gen16 eral may request the immediate convocation of 

17 the Permanent Council to undertake a collective 

18 assessment of the situation and to take such de19 cisions as it deems appropriate.’’. 

20 (B) ‘‘The Permanent Council, depending 

21 on the situation, may undertake the necessary 

22 diplomatic initiatives, including good offices, to 

23 foster the restoration of democracy.’’. 

24 (4) Article 21 of the Inter-American Demo25 cratic Charter states ‘‘When the special session of 


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1 the General Assembly determines that there has 

2 been an unconstitutional interruption of the demo3 cratic order of a member state, and that diplomatic 

4 initiatives have failed, the special session shall take 

5 the decision to suspend said member state.’’. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) Nicola ́s Maduro and the Supreme Tribunal 

9 of Justice of Venezuela have carried out systematic 

10 efforts to undermine, block, and circumvent the au11 thorities and responsibilities of the Venezuelan Na12 tional Assembly, as mandated in the Constitution of 

13 the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 

14 (2) the electoral process convened by the Na15 tional Electoral Council of Venezuela on May 20, 

16 2018 was not democratic, free, fair, or transparent; 

17 (3) Nicola ́s Maduro’s attempt to inaugurate 

18 himself for a second term in office on January 10, 

19 2019, was not legitimate; 

20 (4) such events constitute an unconstitutional 

21 alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously 

22 impairs the democratic order in Venezuela; and 

23 (5) the Secretary of State, working through the 

24 United States Permanent Representative to the Or25 ganization of American States, should take addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1025.IS S1025

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1 tional steps to support ongoing efforts by the Sec2 retary General— 

3 (A) to invoke the Inter-American Demo4 cratic Charter; and 

5 (B) to promote diplomatic initiatives to 

6 foster the restoration of Venezuelan democracy. 

7 SEC. 405. SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OB8 SERVATION AND DEMOCRATIC CIVIL SOCI9 ETY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi11 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen12 cy for International Development— 

13 (1) shall work with the Organization of Amer14 ican States to ensure credible international observa15 tion of future elections in Venezuela that contributes 

16 to free, fair, and transparent democratic electoral 

17 processes; and 

18 (2) shall work through nongovernmental organi19 zations— 

20 (A) to strengthen democratic governance 

21 and institutions, including the democratically 

22 elected National Assembly of Venezuela; 

23 (B) to defend internationally recognized 

24 human rights for the people of Venezuela, in25 cluding support for efforts to document crimes 


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1 against humanity and violations of human 

2 rights; 

3 (C) to support the efforts of independent 

4 media outlets to broadcast, distribute, and 

5 share information beyond the limited channels 

6 made available by the Maduro regime; and 

7 (D) to combat corruption and improve the 

8 transparency and accountability of institutions 

9 that are part of the Maduro regime. 

10 (b) VOICE AND VOTE AT THE ORGANIZATION OF

11 AMERICAN STATES.—The Secretary of State, acting 

12 through the United States Permanent Representative to 

13 the Organization of American States, should advocate and 

14 build diplomatic support for sending an election observa15 tion mission to Venezuela to ensure that democratic elec16 toral processes are organized and carried out in a free, 

17 fair, and transparent manner. 

18 (c) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

21 the United States Agency for International Development, 

22 shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities described 

23 in subsection (a) to— 

24 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

25 Senate; 


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1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

9 appropriated to the Secretary of State for fiscal year 

10 2019— 

11 (A) $500,000 to carry out the activities de12 scribed in subsection (a)(1); and 

13 (B) $14,500,000 to carry out the activities 

14 described in subsection (a)(2). 

15 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

17 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 

18 or otherwise made available pursuant to para19 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

20 after the date on which the President provides 

21 notice to the committees listed in subsection (c) 

22 of intent to obligate such funds. 

23 (B) WAIVER.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

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1 ment under subparagraph (A) if the Sec2 retary determines that such waiver is in 

3 the national security interest of the United 

4 States. 

5 (ii) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—If 

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

7 Secretary of State shall notify the commit8 tees listed in subsection (c) of the intention 

9 to obligate funds under this section as 

10 early as practicable, but not later than 3 

11 days after taking the action to which such 

12 notification requirement was applicable in 

13 the context of the circumstances necessi14 tating such waiver. 

15 TITLE V—SUPPORTING THE RE16 CONSTRUCTION OF VENEZU17 ELA 

18 SEC. 501. ENGAGING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU19 TIONS TO ADVANCE THE RECONSTRUCTION 

20 OF VENEZUELA’S ECONOMY AND ENERGY IN21 FRASTRUCTURE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall engage the 

23 International Monetary Fund and the Multilateral Devel24 opment Banks to create a framework for the economic reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1025.IS S1025

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1 construction of Venezuela, contingent upon the restoration 

2 of democracy and the rule of law in the country. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The framework cre4 ated under subsection (a) should include policy pro5 posals— 

6 (1) to provide Venezuelans with humanitarian 

7 assistance, poverty alleviation, and a social safety 

8 net; 

9 (2) to advance debt restructuring and debt sus10 tainability measures; 

11 (3) to restore the production and efficient man12 agement of Venezuela’s oil industry, including re13 building energy infrastructure; 

14 (4) to eliminate price controls and market dis15 torting subsidies in the Venezuelan economy; and 

16 (5) to address hyperinflation in Venezuela. 

17 (c) CONSULTATION.—In creating the framework 

18 under subsection (a), the President shall consult with rel19 evant stakeholders in the humanitarian (including inter20 national and nongovernmental organizations), financial, 

21 and energy sectors. 

22 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that any effort to conduct debt restructuring 

24 should— 


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1 (1) include discussions with China, which is 

2 Venezuela’s biggest creditor; and 

3 (2) appropriately account for China’s and Rus4 sia’s high-risk lending to Venezuela. 

5 (e) CERTIFICATION.—The President may not support 

6 lending or financing for Venezuela from the International 

7 Monetary Fund and the Multilateral Development Banks 

8 until the Secretary of State submits a report to the Com9 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and Committee 

10 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives certi11 fying that any such lending or financing— 

12 (1) would be managed by the Interim President 

13 of Venezuela or a new, democratically elected Presi14 dent; 

15 (2) would not be used to repay external credi16 tors who are not members of the Group of Seven un17 less such payments are essential to the restoration 

18 of economic stability and democracy in Venezuela; 

19 and 

20 (3) would not benefit the Maduro regime. 

21 SEC. 502. RECOVERING ASSETS STOLEN FROM THE VEN22 EZUELAN PEOPLE. 

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


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1 (1) Venezuela ranked 169th out of 180 coun2 tries in Transparency International’s Corruption 

3 Perception Index 2017. 

4 (2) In March 2015, the Department of the 

5 Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

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

7 been siphoned from Venezuela’s public oil company, 

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

9 designation of the Banca Privada d’Andorra as a 

10 Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money 

11 Laundering Concern. 

12 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi13 nation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attor14 ney General, shall advance a coordinated international ef15 fort— 

16 (1) to carry out special financial investigations 

17 to identify and track assets taken from the people 

18 and institutions of Venezuela through theft, corrup19 tion, money laundering, or other illicit means; and 

20 (2) work with foreign governments— 

21 (A) to share financial investigations intel22 ligence, as appropriate; 

23 (B) to block the assets identified pursuant 

24 to paragraph (1); and 


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1 (C) to advance necessary civil forfeiture 

2 litigation, including providing technical assist3 ance to help governments establish the nec4 essary legal framework to carry out asset for5 feitures. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The coordinated inter7 national effort described in subsection (b) shall— 

8 (1) include input from— 

9 (A) the Office of Foreign Assets Control of 

10 the Department of the Treasury; 

11 (B) the Financial Crimes Enforcement 

12 Network of the Department of the Treasury; 

13 and 

14 (C) the Money Laundering and Asset Re15 covery Section of the Department of Justice; 

16 (2) identify appropriate steps to advance nec17 essary civil forfeiture litigation in the United States; 

18 (3) include an assessment of whether the 

19 United States or another member of the inter20 national community should establish a managed 

21 fund to hold the assets identified pursuant to sub22 section (b)(1) that could be returned to a future 

23 democratic government in Venezuela; and 

24 (4) include recommendations for new legislative 

25 and regulatory measures in the United States that 


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1 would be needed to establish and manage the fund 

2 described in paragraph (3). 

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

4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary of State shall submit a strategy for carrying out 

6 the activities described in subsection (b) to— 

7 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate; 

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

10 Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

11 (3) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen12 ate; 

13 (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (5) the Committee on Financial Services of the 

16 House of Representatives; and 

17 (6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 House of Representatives. 


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1 TITLE VI—RESTORING THE 

2 RULE OF LAW IN VENEZUELA 

3 SEC. 601. DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A COORDI4 NATED SANCTIONS STRATEGY WITH PART5 NERS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND 

6 THE EUROPEAN UNION. 

7 (a) STRENGTHENING SANCTIONS CAPACITY IN LATIN

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

9 working through the Assistant Secretary of State for 

10 International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and 

11 the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Busi12 ness Affairs, and in consultation with the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury, shall provide technical assistance to partner 

14 governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to assist 

15 such governments in establishing the legislative and regu16 latory frameworks needed to impose targeted sanctions on 

17 officials of the Maduro regime who— 

18 (1) are responsible for human rights abuses; 

19 (2) have engaged in public corruption; or 

20 (3) are undermining democratic institutions and 

21 processes in Venezuela. 

22 (b) COORDINATING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS.— 

23 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 

24 of the Treasury, shall engage in diplomatic efforts with 

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1 ada, governments in the European Union, and govern2 ments in Latin America and the Caribbean, to impose tar3 geted sanctions on the officials described in subsection (a). 

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

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury, shall submit a strategy for carrying out the ac8 tivities described in subsection (a) to— 

9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 Senate; 

13 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; and 

15 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

16 House of Representatives. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

19 appropriated, to the Department of State, 

20 $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 to carry out the ac21 tivities set forth in subsection (a) in accordance with 

22 this section. 

23 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

25 under subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated 


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1 or otherwise made available pursuant to para2 graph (1) may not be obligated until 15 days 

3 after the date on which the President provides 

4 notice to the committees listed in subsection (c) 

5 of the intent to obligate such funds. 

6 (B) WAIVER.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

8 State may waive the requirement under 

9 subparagraph (A) if the Secretary of State 

10 determines that such waiver is in the na11 tional security interest of the United 

12 States. 

13 (ii) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—If 

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

15 President shall notify the committees listed 

16 in subsection (c) of the intention to obli17 gate funds under this section as early as 

18 practicable, but not later than 3 days after 

19 taking the action to which such notification 

20 requirement was applicable in the context 

21 of the circumstances necessitating such 

22 waiver. 


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1 SEC. 602. CLASSIFIED BRIEFING ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF 

2 VENEZUELAN OFFICIALS IN CORRUPTION 

3 AND ILLICIT NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING. 

4 (a) BRIEFING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary of State, acting through the Bureau of Intelligence 

7 and Research, and in coordination with the Director of 

8 National Intelligence, shall brief the appropriate congres9 sional committees on the involvement of senior officials of 

10 the Maduro regime, including members of the National 

11 Electoral Council, the judicial system, and the Venezuelan 

12 security forces, in illicit narcotics trafficking and acts of 

13 corruption in Venezuela. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The briefing provided 

15 under subsection (a) shall— 

16 (1) describe how the acts of corruption de17 scribed in the report pose challenges for United 

18 States national security and impact the rule of law 

19 and democratic governance in countries of the West20 ern Hemisphere; 

21 (2) identify individuals that frustrate the ability 

22 of the United States to combat illicit narcotics traf23 ficking; 

24 (3) include an assessment of the relationship 

25 between individuals identified under subsection (a) 

26 and Nicola ́s Maduro or members of his cabinet; and 


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1 (4) include input from the Drug Enforcement 

2 Administration, the Office of Foreign Assets Con3 trol, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Net4 work. 

5 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

6 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (2) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

11 Senate; 

12 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

13 House of Representatives; and 

14 (4) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel15 ligence of the House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 603. SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUB17 LIC CORRUPTION AND UNDERMINING DEMO18 CRATIC GOVERNANCE. 

19 (a) FINDING.—Executive Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 

20 1701 note), which was signed on March 8, 2015, estab21 lished sanctions against individuals responsible for under22 mining democratic processes and institutions and involved 

23 in acts of public corruption that were not included in the 

24 Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act 

25 of 2014 (Public Law 113–278). 


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1 (b) SANCTIONS.—Section 5(a) of the Venezuela De2 fense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 

3 (Public Law 113–278) is amended— 

4 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘Government of Ven6 ezuela’’ and inserting ‘‘Maduro regime (as de7 fined in section 4 of the Venezuela Emergency 

8 Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development 

9 Act of 2019)’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘that Government’’ and in11 serting ‘‘that regime’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para15 graph (5); 

16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(3) is responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, 

19 controlling, or otherwise directing, significant actions 

20 or policies that undermine democratic processes or 

21 institutions; 

22 ‘‘(4) is a government official, or a senior asso23 ciate of such an official, that is responsible for, or 

24 complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise di25 recting, acts of significant corruption, including the 


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1 expropriation of private or public assets for personal 

2 gain, corruption related to government contracts or 

3 the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the 

4 facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption 

5 to foreign jurisdictions; or’’; and 

6 (5) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by strik7 ing ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘para8 graph (1), (2), (3), or (4)’’. 

9 SEC. 604. PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT SANCTIONED OFFI10 CIALS. 

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

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

13 thereafter, except as provided in subsection (c), the Sec14 retary of Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

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

16 total assessed value of blocked assets of Venezuelans des17 ignated under sanctions authorized under— 

18 (1) the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation 

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

20 1901 et seq.); 

21 (2) the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights 

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

23 278), as amended by section 603 of this Act; or 

24 (3) Executive Orders 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

25 note) and 13850. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—Reports submitted 

2 under subsection (a) should provide descriptions of specific 

3 cases that are most representative of the endemic corrup4 tion and illicit financial activities occurring in Venezuela. 

5 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—The Secretary of 

6 Treasury is not required to submit an updated report to 

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

8 of the preceding report— 

9 (1) there has been meaningful change in the 

10 value of blocked assets; or 

11 (2) additional individuals have been targeted for 

12 sanctions under the authorities listed in subsection 

13 (a). 

14 (d) BRIEFINGS.—If the Secretary of Treasury exer15 cises the exception described in subsection (c), the Sec16 retary of the Treasury, or designee, shall immediately brief 

17 Congress regarding— 

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

19 (2) information related to the value of blocked 

20 assets described in subsection (a). 

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

22 be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a clas23 sified annex. 


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1 SEC. 605. FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ON MADURO REGIME 

2 DEBT. 

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

4 41155), which was signed on August 24, 2017, established 

5 sanctions against the Maduro regime’s ability to issue 

6 public debt. 

7 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and in sections 

8 606 and 608: 

9 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part10 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora11 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

12 (2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in13 dividual or entity. 

14 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

15 ‘‘United States person’’ means any— 

16 (A) United States citizen; 

17 (B) alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

18 residence to the United States; 

19 (C) entity organized under the laws of the 

20 United States or any jurisdiction within the 

21 United States (including a foreign branch of 

22 any such entity); and 

23 (D) any person physically located in the 

24 United States. 

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

26 the United States or by a United States person— 


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1 (1) any transaction related to, provision of fi2 nancing for, or other dealing in— 

3 (A) debt instruments with a maturity of 

4 greater than 90 days issued by Petro ́leos de 

5 Venezuela, S.A., on or after the date of the en6 actment of this Act; 

7 (B) debt instruments with a maturity of 

8 greater than 30 days or equity issued by the 

9 Maduro regime on or after the date of the en10 actment of this Act, excluding debt instruments 

11 issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., that are 

12 not covered under subparagraph (A); 

13 (C) bonds issued by the Maduro regime be14 fore the date of the enactment of this Act; or 

15 (D) dividend payments or other distribu16 tions of profits to the Maduro regime from any 

17 entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, 

18 by the Maduro regime; 

19 (2) the direct or indirect purchase of securities 

20 from the Maduro regime, except for— 

21 (A) securities qualifying as debt instru22 ments issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., 

23 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

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

25 and 


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1 (B) securities qualifying as debt instru2 ments issued by the Maduro regime on or after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act that are 

4 not described in paragraph (1)(B); 

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

6 the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a viola7 tion of, or attempts to violate a prohibition under 

8 paragraph (1) or (2); and 

9 (4) any conspiracy to violate a prohibition 

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

11 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the President should waive the prohibitions de13 scribed in subsection (c) and in Executive Order 13808 

14 if the related debt instruments, bonds, or securities have 

15 been approved or ratified by the democratically elected 

16 National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Ven17 ezuela. 

18 (e) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

19 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex20 ercise all authorities described in sections 203 and 

21 205 of the International Emergency Economic Pow22 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this 

23 section. 

24 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at25 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 


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

2 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

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

4 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco5 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex6 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de7 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

8 SEC. 606. ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ON MADURO 

9 REGIME DEBT. 

10 (a) FINDING.—Executive Order 13835 (83 Fed. Reg. 

11 24001), which was signed on May 21, 2018, established 

12 additional sanctions against transactions involving the 

13 Maduro regime’s existing public debt. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION.—The President may prohibit a 

15 United States person or any person within the United 

16 States from— 

17 (1) purchasing any debt owed to the Maduro 

18 regime, including accounts receivable; 

19 (2) entering into any transaction related to any 

20 debt owed to the Maduro regime that is pledged as 

21 collateral after May 21, 2018, including accounts re22 ceivable; or 

23 (3) entering into any transaction involving the 

24 selling, transferring, assigning, or pledging as collat25 eral by the Maduro regime of any equity interest in 


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1 any entity in which the Maduro regime has a 50 

2 percent or greater ownership interest. 

3 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the President should waive the prohibitions de5 scribed in subsection (a) and in Executive Order 13835 

6 if transactions involving related debt instruments, bonds, 

7 or securities have been approved or ratified by the demo8 cratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela. 

9 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

10 in consultation with the Secretary of State, may promul11 gate such regulations as may be necessary to enforce the 

12 prohibition set forth in subsection (b). 

13 SEC. 607. EXPANDING KINGPIN SANCTIONS ON NARCOTICS 

14 TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find16 ings: 

17 (1) On February 13, 2017, the Department of 

18 the Treasury designated Venezuelan nationals 

19 Tareck El Aissami (the current Vice President of 

20 Venezuela) and Samark Lo ́pez Bello pursuant to the 

21 Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 

22 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.). 

23 (2) On May 7, 2018, the Department of the 

24 Treasury designated Venezuelan nationals Pedro 


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1 Luis Martin, Walter Alexander del Nogal, and Mario 

2 Antonio Rodrı ́guez pursuant to such Act. 

3 (b) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS EXPANSION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas5 ury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, 

6 the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the 

7 Central Intelligence Agency shall expand investiga8 tions, intelligence collection, and analysis pursuant 

9 to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act 

10 (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) to facilitate the identifica11 tion and support the application of sanctions 

12 against— 

13 (A) significant foreign narcotics traf14 fickers, their organizations and networks; and 

15 (B) the foreign persons who provide mate16 rial, financial, or technological support to such 

17 traffickers, organizations, and networks. 

18 (2) TARGETS.—The efforts described in para19 graph (1) shall specifically target— 

20 (A) senior members of the Maduro regime, 

21 including military officers, involved in narcotics 

22 trafficking and money laundering; 

23 (B) foreign narcotics traffickers and their 

24 organizations and networks that are operating 

25 in Venezuela; and 


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1 (C) the foreign persons who provide mate2 rial, financial, or technological support to such 

3 traffickers, organizations, and networks that 

4 are operating in Venezuela. 

5 SEC. 608. SANCTIONS ON THE MADURO REGIME’S TRADE IN 

6 GOLD. 

7 (a) FINDING.—Executive Order 13850, which was 

8 signed on November 1, 2018, established sanctions 

9 against the gold sector of the Venezuelan economy. 

10 (b) SANCTIONS AUTHORIZED.—The President, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the 

12 Secretary of State, may block and prohibit the transfer, 

13 payment, exportation, withdrawal, or other disposition of 

14 all property and interests in property of any person that 

15 operates in the gold sector of the Venezuelan economy if 

16 such property is in the United States, comes into the 

17 United States, or is or comes within the possession or con18 trol of any United States person. 

19 SEC. 609. CONCERNS OVER PDVSA TRANSACTIONS WITH 

20 ROSNEFT. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find22 ings: 

23 (1) In late 2016, Venezuelan state-owned oil 

24 company Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A. (referred to in 

25 this section as ‘‘PDVSA’’), through a no compete 


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1 transaction, secured a loan from Russian govern2 ment-controlled oil company Rosneft, using 49.9 per3 cent of PDVSA’s American subsidiary, CITGO Pe4 troleum Corporation, including its assets in the 

5 United States, as collateral. As a result of this 

6 transaction, 100 percent of CITGO is held as collat7 eral by PDVSA’s creditors. 

8 (2) CITGO, a wholly owned subsidiary of 

9 PDVSA, is engaged in interstate commerce and 

10 owns and controls critical energy infrastructure in 

11 19 States of the United States, including an exten12 sive network of pipelines, 48 terminals, and 3 refin13 eries, with a combined oil refining capacity of 

14 749,000 barrels per day. CITGO’s refinery in Lake 

15 Charles, Louisiana, is the sixth largest refinery in 

16 the United States. 

17 (3) The Department of the Treasury imposed 

18 sanctions on Rosneft, which is controlled by the Gov19 ernment of the Russian Federation, and its Execu20 tive Chairman, Igor Sechin, following Russia’s mili21 tary invasion of Ukraine and its illegal annexation of 

22 Crimea in 2014. 

23 (4) The Department of Homeland Security has 

24 designated the energy sector as critical to United 

25 States infrastructure. 


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1 (5) The growing economic crisis in Venezuela 

2 raises the probability that the Maduro regime and 

3 PDVSA will default on their international debt obli4 gations, resulting in a scenario in which Rosneft 

5 could come into control of CITGO’s United States 

6 energy infrastructure holdings. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) control of critical United States energy in10 frastructure by Rosneft, a Russian government-con11 trolled entity currently under United States sanc12 tions that is led by Igor Sechin, who is also under 

13 United States sanctions and is a close associate of 

14 Vladimir Putin, would pose a significant risk to 

15 United States national security and energy security; 

16 and 

17 (2) a default by PDVSA on its loan from 

18 Rosneft, resulting in Rosneft coming into possession 

19 of PDVSA’s United States CITGO assets, would 

20 warrant careful consideration by the Committee on 

21 Foreign Investment in the United States. 

22 (c) PREVENTING ROSNEFT FROM CONTROLLING

23 UNITED STATES ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Presi24 dent shall take all necessary steps to prevent Rosneft from 


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1 gaining control of critical United States energy infrastruc2 ture. 

3 (d) SECURITY RISK ASSESSMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

6 shall conduct an assessment of the security risks 

7 posed by Russian control of CITGO’s United States 

8 energy infrastructure holdings. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 

12 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

13 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

14 Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Af15 fairs of the House of Representatives, and the Com16 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep17 resentatives that contains the results of the assess18 ment conducted pursuant to paragraph (1). 

19 (e) REVIEW OF CITGO TRANSACTIONS.—If PDVSA 

20 defaults on its debt obligations, the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury should review CITGO’s transactions with United 

22 States persons to assess and ensure compliance with 

23 United States sanctions policies and regulations. 


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1 SEC. 610. CLASSIFIED BRIEFING ON ACTIVITIES OF CER2 TAIN FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND ACTORS 

3 IN VENEZUELA. 

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

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

6 acting through the Bureau of Intelligence and Research 

7 of the Department of State, and in coordination with the 

8 Director of National Intelligence, shall brief the appro9 priate congressional committees on— 

10 (1) the full extent of cooperation by the Govern11 ment of the Russian Federation, the Government of 

12 the People’s Republic of China, the Government of 

13 Cuba, and the Government of Iran with the Maduro 

14 regime; and 

15 (2) the activities inside Venezuelan territory of 

16 foreign armed groups, including Colombian criminal 

17 organizations and defectors from the Colombian gue18 rilla group known as the Revolutionary Armed 

19 Forces of Colombia, and foreign terrorist organiza20 tions, including the Colombian guerilla group known 

21 as the National Liberation Army (ELN). 

22 (b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

23 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com24 mittees’’ means— 

25 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

26 Senate; 


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1 (2) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (4) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel6 ligence of the House of Representatives. 

7 TITLE VII—CRYPTOCURRENCY 

8 SANCTIONS AND ENSURING 

9 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

10 UNITED STATES SANCTIONS 

11 SEC. 701. SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELA’S CRYPTOCURRENCY 

12 AND THE PROVISION OF RELATED TECH13 NOLOGIES. 

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

15 12469), which was signed on March 19, 2018, established 

16 sanctions against the Maduro regime’s ability to issue a 

17 digital currency in an effort to circumvent United States 

18 sanctions. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part21 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora22 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 

23 (2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in24 dividual or entity. 


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1 (3) 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 Maduro regime are prohibited beginning on 

19 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 

24 notwithstanding any contract entered into or any liVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1025.IS S1025

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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. 702. REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF CRYPTOCURREN2 CIES ON UNITED STATES SANCTIONS. 

3 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap4 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

6 Senate; 

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

8 Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

9 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

10 House of Representatives; and 

11 (4) the Committee on Financial Services of the 

12 House of Representatives. 

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

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec15 retary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of 

16 the Treasury, the Chairman of the Securities and Ex17 change Commission, and the Chairman of the Commodity 

18 Futures Trading Commission, shall submit a report to the 

19 appropriate congressional committees that provides an as20 sessment on how digital currencies affect the effectiveness 

21 of United States sanctions around the world. 

22 (c) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The report submitted 

23 under subsection (b) shall— 

24 (1) describe any global efforts, including efforts 

25 by states, state-sponsored actors, and non-state26 sponsored actors, to utilize digital currencies to 


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1 evade or circumvent United States sanctions, includ2 ing through the direct or indirect use of products or 

3 services of United States based technology, software, 

4 or financial services firms; and 

5 (2) include recommendations for new legislative 

6 and regulatory measures needed to strengthen the 

7 United States Government’s ability to prevent 

8 states, state-sponsored actors, and non-state-spon9 sored actors from using digital currencies to evade 

10 or circumvent United States sanctions, including 

11 through the direct or indirect use of products or 

12 services of United States based technology, software, 

13 or financial services firms. 

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

15 (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in16 clude a classified annex. 

17 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

18 PROVISIONS 

19 SEC. 801. CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS. 

20 (a) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; SANCTIONED CO21 ORDINATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

23 any congressional committee listed under paragraph 

24 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

25 of section 201, 202, 203, or 601, the Secretary of 


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1 State and the Administrator of the United States 

2 Agency for International Development shall provide 

3 such briefing to such committee. 

4 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The com5 mittees listed under this paragraph are— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

11 the House of Representatives; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 (b) UNITED NATIONS; NEGOTIATED SOLUTION; 

15 CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

17 any congressional committee listed under paragraph 

18 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

19 of section 103, 204, or 403, the Secretary of State 

20 shall provide such briefing to such committee. 

21 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con22 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

23 are— 

24 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

25 the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (c) REGIME COHESION; CORRUPTION AND NAR4 COTICS TRAFFICKING; FOREIGN GOVERNMENT ACTIVI5 TIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

7 a congressional committee listed under paragraph 

8 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

9 of section 301, 602, or 610, the Secretary of State 

10 and the Director of National Intelligence shall pro11 vide such briefing to such committee. 

12 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con13 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

14 are— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

18 of the Senate; 

19 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

20 the House of Representatives; and 

21 (D) the Permanent Select Committee on 

22 Intelligence of the House of Representatives. 

23 (d) INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION.—Not 

24 later than 15 days after a congressional committee listed 

25 under subsection (a)(2) requests a briefing regarding the 


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1 implementation of section 405, the Secretary of State, the 

2 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter3 national Development, and the United States Ambassador 

4 to the Organization of American States shall provide such 

5 briefing to such committee. 

6 (e) VISA RESTRICTIONS; SANCTIONS WAIVER.—Not 

7 later than 15 days after a congressional committee listed 

8 under subsection (b)(2) requests a briefing regarding the 

9 implementation of section 302 or 303, the Secretary of 

10 State shall provide such briefing to such committee. 

11 (f) RECONSTRUCTION OF VENEZUELA’S ENERGY IN12 FRASTRUCTURE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

14 a congressional committee listed under paragraph 

15 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

16 of section 501, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 

17 of Energy, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

18 provide such briefing to such committee. 

19 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con20 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

21 are— 

22 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

23 the Senate; 

24 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

25 Resources of the Senate; 


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1 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

2 the House of Representatives; and 

3 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives. 

5 (g) RECOVERY OF STOLEN ASSETS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

7 a congressional committee listed under paragraph 

8 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

9 of section 502, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 

10 of the Treasury, and the Attorney General shall pro11 vide such briefing to such committee. 

12 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con13 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

14 are— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

18 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

19 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

20 Senate; 

21 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

22 the House of Representatives; 

23 (E) the Committee on Financial Services 

24 of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (h) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

5 a congressional committee listed under paragraph 

6 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

7 of section 605, 606, or 608, the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury shall provide such briefing to such com9 mittee. 

10 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con11 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

12 are— 

13 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

16 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

17 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

18 the House of Representatives; and 

19 (D) the Committee on Financial Services 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

21 (i) KINGPIN SANCTIONS.—Not later than 15 days 

22 after a congressional committee listed under subsection 

23 (h)(2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

24 of section 607, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney 

25 General, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the 


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1 Central Intelligence Agency shall provide such briefing to 

2 such committee. 

3 (j) PDVSA TRANSACTIONS WITH ROSNEFT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

5 a congressional committee listed under paragraph 

6 (2) requests a briefing regarding the implementation 

7 of section 609, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Homeland Se9 curity shall provide such briefing to such committee. 

10 (2) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The con11 gressional committees listed under this paragraph 

12 are— 

13 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

17 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

18 the House of Representatives; and 

19 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

21 (k) CRYPTOCURRENCY SANCTIONS.—Not later than 

22 15 days after a congressional committee listed under sub23 section (h)(2) requests a briefing regarding the implemen24 tation of section 701 or 702, the Secretary of State, the 

25 Secretary of the Treasury, and the Chairman of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1025.IS S1025

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1 modity Futures Trading Commission shall provide such 

2 briefing to such committee. 

3 SEC. 802. EXTENSION AND TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS 

4 AGAINST VENEZUELA. 

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 5(e) of the Venezuela De6 fense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 

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

8 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem9 ber 31, 2025’’. 

10 (b) TERMINATION.—The requirement to impose sanc11 tions under this Act shall terminate on December 31, 

12 2025. 

Æ 


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