A bill to punish anti-democratic actions by the nicolas maduro government in Venezuela and to go after individuals who might have cooperated in these actions, named the venezuela Defense of Human rights and civil society act of 2014 has been introduced to the U.S. Senate by senators Menendez, rubio, nelson and kirk. this bill should have the support of all venezuelans fighting for democracy.
as we gather information we will be analyzing the situation of these and other initiatives being taken in the u.s. to assist venezuelans who are fighting for democracy, both at home and abroad.
here is the latest version of this bill:
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2142
IN
THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March
13, 2014
Mr.
Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Kirk) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
A
BILL
To
impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of human rights
of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen civil society in
Venezuela, and for other purposes.
1.
Short
title
This Act may be cited as the Venezuela Defense of Human
Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014.
2.
Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
(1)
The Central Bank of Venezuela and the National
Statistical Institute of Venezuela have stated that the inflation rate in
Venezuela was 56.30 percent in 2013, the highest level of inflation in the
Western Hemisphere and the third highest level of inflation in the world behind
South Sudan and Syria.
(2)
The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Government of
Venezuela have imposed a series of currency controls that has exacerbated
economic problems and, according to the World Economic Forum, has become the
most problematic factor for doing business in Venezuela.
(3)
The Central Bank of Venezuela and the National
Statistical Institute of Venezuela have declared that the scarcity index of
Venezuela reached 28 percent in December 2013, which signifies that one in 4
basic goods is unavailable at any given time.
(4)
Since 1999, violent crime in Venezuela has risen sharply
and the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, an independent nongovernmental
organization, found the national per capita murder rate to be 79 per 100,000
people in 2013.
(5)
The international nongovernmental organization Human
Rights Watch recently stated, Under the leadership of President Chàvez and now
President Maduro, the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the
erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate,
censor, and prosecute its critics..
(6)
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 of
the Department of State maintained that in Venezuela the government did not
respect judicial independence or permit judges to act according to the law
without fear of retaliation and the government used the judiciary to intimidate
and selectively prosecute political, union, business, and civil society leaders
who were critical of government policies or actions.
(7)
The Government of Venezuela has detained foreign journalists
and threatened and expelled international media outlets operating in Venezuela,
and the international nongovernmental organization Freedom House declared that
Venezuela’s media climate is permeated by intimidation, sometimes including
physical attacks, and strong anti media rhetoric by the government is common.
(8)
Since February 4, 2014, the Government of Venezuela has
responded to antigovernment protests with violence and killings perpetrated by
public security forces, and by arresting and unjustly charging opposition
leader Leopoldo Lopez with criminal incitement, conspiracy, arson, and intent
to damage property.
(9)
As of March 13, 2014, 23 people had been killed, more
than 100 people had been injured, and dozens had been unjustly detained as a result
of antigovernment demonstrations throughout Venezuela.
3.
Sense
of Congress regarding antigovernment protests in Venezuela and the need to
prevent further violence in Venezuela
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the United States aspires to a mutually beneficial
relationship with Venezuela based on respect for human rights and the rule of
law and a functional and productive relationship on issues of public security,
including counternarcotics and counterterrorism;
(2)
the United States supports the people of Venezuela in
their efforts to realize their full economic potential and to advance
representative democracy, human rights, and the rule of law within their
country;
(3)
The chronic mismanagement by the Government of Venezuela
of its economy has produced conditions of economic hardship and scarcity of
basic goods and foodstuffs for the people of Venezuela;
(4)
the failure of the Government of Venezuela to guarantee
minimal standards of public security for its citizens has led the country to
become one of the most violent in the world;
(5)
the Government of Venezuela continues to take steps to
remove checks and balances on the executive, politicize the judiciary,
undermine the independence of the legislature through use of executive decree
powers, persecute and prosecute its political opponents, curtail freedom of the
press, and limit the free expression of its citizens;
(6)
the people of Venezuela, responding to ongoing economic
hardship, high levels of crime and violence, and the lack of basic political
rights and individual freedoms, have turned out in demonstrations in Caracas
and throughout the country to protest the inability of the Government of
Venezuela to ensure the political and economic well-being of its citizens; and
(7)
the repeated use of violence perpetrated by the National
Guard and security personnel of Venezuela, as well as persons acting on behalf
of the Government of Venezuela, in relation to the antigovernment protests that
began on February 4, 2014, is intolerable and the use of unprovoked violence by
protesters is also a matter of serious concern.
4.
United
States policy toward Venezuela
It is the policy of the United States—
(1)
to support the people of Venezuela in their aspiration to
live under conditions of peace and representative democracy as defined by the
Inter-American Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States;
(2)
to work in concert with the other member states within
the Organization of American States, as well as the countries of the European
Union, to ensure the peaceful resolution of the current situation in Venezuela
and the immediate cessation of violence against antigovernment protestors;
(3)
to hold accountable government and security officials in
Venezuela responsible for or complicit in the use of force in relation to the
antigovernment protests that began on February 4, 2014, and similar future acts
of violence; and
(4)
to continue to support the development of democratic
political processes and independent civil society in Venezuela.
5.
Sanctions
on persons responsible for violence in Venezuela
(a)
In
general
The President shall impose the sanctions described in
subsection (b) with respect to any person, including a current or former
official of the Government of Venezuela or a person acting on behalf of that
Government, that the President determines—
(1)
has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering,
controlling, or otherwise directing, significant acts of violence or serious
human rights abuses in Venezuela against persons associated with the
antigovernment protests in Venezuela that began on February 4, 2014;
(2)
has directed or ordered the arrest or prosecution of a person
primarily because of the person's legitimate exercise of freedom of expression
or assembly; or
(3)
has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided
significant financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or
services in support of, the commission of acts described in paragraph (1) or
(2).
(b)
Sanctions
described
(1)
In
general
The sanctions described in this subsection are the
following:
(A)
Asset
blocking
The exercise of all powers granted to the President by
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and
interests in property of a person determined by the President to be subject to
subsection (a) if such property and interests in property are in the United
States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or
control of a United States person.
(B)
Exclusion
from the United States and revocation of visa or other documentation
In the case of an alien determined by the President to be
subject to subsection (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion from the United
States of, the alien, and revocation in accordance with section 221(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any visa or other
documentation of the alien.
(2)
Penalties
A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to
violate, or causes a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, license,
or order issued to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the penalties
set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person
that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.
(3)
Exception
to comply with united nations headquarters agreement
Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to an
alien if admitting the alien into the United States is necessary to permit the
United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the
United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or other
applicable international obligations.
(c)
Waiver
The President may waive the application of sanctions
under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President—
(1)
determines that such a waiver is in the national security
interests of the United States; and
(2)
on or before the date on which the waiver takes effect,
submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a
notice of and justification for the waiver.
(d)
Regulatory
authority
The President shall issue such regulations, licenses, and
orders as are necessary to carry out this section.
(e)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Admitted;
alien
The terms admitted and alien have the
meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2)
Financial
institution
The term financial institution has the meaning
given that term in section 5312 of title 31, United States Code.
(3)
Materially
assisted
The term materially assisted means the provision
of assistance that is significant and of a kind directly relevant to acts
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a).
(4)
United
states person
The term United States person means—
(A)
a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence to the United States; or
(B)
an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of
such an entity.
6.
Support
for civil society in Venezuela
(a)
In
general
The Secretary of State shall, subject to the availability
of appropriations, directly or through nongovernmental organizations—
(1)
defend internationally recognized human rights for the
people of Venezuela;
(2)
build the organizational and operational capacity of
democratic civil society activists and organizations in Venezuela at the
national and regional level;
(3)
support the efforts of independent media outlets to
broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond the limited channels made
available by the Government of Venezuela;
(4)
facilitate open and uncensored access to the Internet for
the people of Venezuela;
(5)
improve transparency and accountability of institutions
that are part of the Government of Venezuela;
(6)
provide support to civil society organizations,
activists, and peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela that have been targeted for
exercising internationally recognized civil and political rights, as well as
journalists targeted for activities related to the work of a free press; and
(7)
provide support for democratic political organizing and
election monitoring in Venezuela.
(b)
Strategy
requirement
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the President shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities
described in subsection (a) to—
(1)
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2)
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(c)
Authorization
of appropriations
(1)
In
general
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
of State $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 to carry out subsection (a). Amounts
appropriated for the activities set forth in subsection (a) shall be used
pursuant to the authorization and requirements contained in this section.
Additional amounts may be authorized to be appropriated under provisions of
law.
(2)
Notification
requirement
(A)
In
general
Funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant
to paragraph (1) may not be obligated until until 15 days after the date on
which the President has provided notice of intent to obligate such funds to—
(i)
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(ii)
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(B)
Waiver
The President may waive the requirement under
subparagraph (A) if the President determines that failure to waive that
requirement would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare, in which
case notification shall be provided as early as practicable, but in no event
later than 3 days after taking the action to which such notification
requirement was applicable in the context of the circumstances necessitating
such waiver.
You are reading the latest text of the
bill. The text of a bill may change in committee or through the amendment process.
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