Venezuelan Democracy Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 995 To promote democracy in Venezuela, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 28, 2023 Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Mr. BARRASSO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To promote democracy in Venezuela, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Venezuelan Democracy Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Statement of policy. Sec. 3. Appropriate congressional committees defined. TITLE I—DETERMINATIONS OF A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT OR DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA Sec. 101. Determinations of a transition government or democratically elected government in Venezuela. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 995 IS TITLE II—PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN VENEZUELA Sec. 201. United States policy regarding membership of Venezuela in inter- national financial institutions. Sec. 202. United States policy regarding membership of Venezuela in the Orga- nization of American States. Sec. 203. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights groups and international observers. Sec. 204. Support for the people of Venezuela. TITLE III—SANCTIONS Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Blocking international support for a nondemocratic government in Venezuela. Sec. 303. Financial sanctions with respect to debt instruments of Maduro re- gime. Sec. 304. Sanctions with respect to cryptocurrency of Venezuela and provision of related technologies. Sec. 305. Blocking property of the Government of Venezuela. Sec. 306. Determination with respect to designation of Maduro regime as a ter- rorist organization. Sec. 307. Suspension and termination of sanctions. Sec. 308. Implementation; penalties. Sec. 309. Report on specific licenses that authorize transactions with sanc- tioned persons. Sec. 310. Report on foreign persons doing business with the Maduro regime. TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT VENEZUELA Sec. 401. Policy toward a transition government and a democratically elected government in Venezuela. Sec. 402. Assistance for the people of Venezuela. Sec. 403. Report on trade and investment relations between the United States and Venezuela. TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 501. Effect of Act on lawful United States Government activities. Sec. 502. Exception relating to importation of goods. SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 1 It is the policy of the United States— 2 (1) to seek a peaceful transition to democracy 3 and a resumption of economic growth in Venezuela 4 through support for the people of Venezuela and the 5 careful application of sanctions directed at the re- 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 995 IS gime of Nicola`s Maduro and any nondemocratic suc- 1 cessor; 2 (2) to seek the cooperation of other democratic 3 countries in supporting a transition described in 4 paragraph (1); 5 (3) to make clear to other countries that, in de- 6 termining the relations of the United States with 7 those countries, the United States will take into ac- 8 count the willingness of those countries to cooperate 9 in supporting a transition described in paragraph 10 (1); 11 (4) to seek the speedy termination of any re- 12 maining military or technical assistance, subsidies, 13 or other forms of assistance to the Maduro regime 14 and any nondemocratic successor from the govern- 15 ment of any other country, including the govern- 16 ments of Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 17 Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of 18 China; 19 (5) to continue to vigorously oppose violations 20 of internationally recognized human rights in Ven- 21 ezuela; 22 (6) to maintain sanctions on the Maduro regime 23 so long as it continues to refuse to move toward de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 995 IS mocratization and greater respect for internationally 1 recognized human rights; and 2 (7) to be prepared to reduce the sanctions im- 3 posed with respect to Venezuela in carefully cali- 4 brated ways in response to demonstrable progress 5 toward democratization in Venezuela, including the 6 establishment of a transition government that leads 7 to a democratically elected government in Venezuela. 8 SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 9 FINED. 10 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations of 12 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 13 House of Representatives. 14 TITLE I—DETERMINATIONS OF A 15 TRANSITION GOVERNMENT 16 OR DEMOCRATICALLY ELECT- 17 ED GOVERNMENT IN VEN- 18 EZUELA 19 SEC. 101. DETERMINATIONS OF A TRANSITION GOVERN- 20 MENT OR DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOV- 21 ERNMENT IN VENEZUELA. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon making a determination 23 that a transition government or a democratically elected 24 government is in power in Venezuela, the President shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 995 IS submit that determination to the appropriate congres- 1 sional committees. 2 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A TRANSI- 3 TION GOVERNMENT IS IN POWER IN VENEZUELA.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of making 5 a determination under subsection (a), a transition 6 government in Venezuela is a government that— 7 (A) is showing respect for the basic civil 8 liberties and internationally recognized human 9 rights of the citizens of Venezuela; 10 (B) has fully reinstated all members of the 11 National Assembly convened on January 6, 12 2016, following democratic elections that were 13 held on December 6, 2015; 14 (C) has lifted the order of contempt issued 15 by the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice 16 (TSJ) on January 11, 2016, against the Na- 17 tional Assembly convened on January 6, 2016, 18 including by restoring all powers of said Na- 19 tional Assembly and the immunities for depu- 20 ties; 21 (D) has ceased to interfere with the func- 22 tioning of political parties, including by lifting 23 all judicial interventions of political parties has 24 legalized all political activity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 995 IS (E) has released all political prisoners and 1 allowed for investigations of Venezuelan prisons 2 by appropriate international human rights orga- 3 nizations; 4 (F) has dissolved the General Directorate 5 of Military Counterintelligence, the Special Ac- 6 tion Forces (FAES), and the Colectivos; 7 (G) has made public commitments to orga- 8 nizing free and fair elections for a new govern- 9 ment— 10 (i) to be held in a timely manner with- 11 in a period not to exceed 12 months after 12 the transition government assumes power; 13 (ii) with the participation of multiple 14 independent political parties that have full 15 access to the media on an equal basis, in- 16 cluding (in the case of radio, television, or 17 other telecommunications media) in terms 18 of allotments of time for such access and 19 the times of day such allotments are given; 20 and 21 (iii) to be conducted under the super- 22 vision of observers from the Organization 23 of American States, the United Nations, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 995 IS and other internationally recognized elec- 1 tion observers; 2 (H) makes public commitments to and is 3 making demonstrable progress in— 4 (i) establishing an independent judici- 5 ary; 6 (ii) respecting internationally recog- 7 nized human rights and fundamental free- 8 doms as set forth in the Universal Declara- 9 tion of Human Rights, to which Venezuela 10 is a signatory; and 11 (iii) allowing the establishment of 12 independent social, economic, and political 13 associations; and 14 (I) does not include Nicola`s Maduro or any 15 persons— 16 (i) with respect to which sanctions 17 have been imposed by the Office of Foreign 18 Assets Control; or 19 (ii) sought by the United States De- 20 partment of Justice. 21 (2) ADDITIONAL FACTORS.—In addition to the 22 requirements set forth in paragraph (1), in deter- 23 mining under subsection (a) whether a transition 24 government is in power in Venezuela, the President 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 995 IS shall take into account the extent to which that gov- 1 ernment— 2 (A) has made public commitments to, and 3 is making demonstrable progress in— 4 (i) effectively guaranteeing the rights 5 of free speech and freedom of the press, in- 6 cluding granting permits to privately 7 owned media and telecommunications com- 8 panies to operate in Venezuela; 9 (ii) implementing the recommenda- 10 tions included in the Final Report of the 11 European Union Election Observation Mis- 12 sion to observe the regional and municipal 13 elections on November 21, 2021, in Ven- 14 ezuela; and 15 (iii) assuring the right to private 16 property; 17 (B) is taking genuine efforts to extradite 18 or otherwise render to the United States all 19 persons sought by the United States Depart- 20 ment of Justice for crimes committed in the 21 United States; 22 (C) is not providing any support to any 23 group, in any other country, that seeks the vio- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 995 IS lent overthrow of the government of that coun- 1 try; and 2 (D) has permitted the deployment through- 3 out Venezuela of independent and unfettered 4 international human rights monitors. 5 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A DEMO- 6 CRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IS IN POWER IN 7 VENEZUELA.—For the purposes of making a determina- 8 tion under subsection (a), a democratically elected govern- 9 ment in Venezuela is a government that, in addition to 10 meeting the requirements of subsection (b)— 11 (1) results from free and fair elections— 12 (A) conducted under the supervision of 13 internationally recognized election observers; 14 and 15 (B) in which— 16 (i) opposition parties were permitted 17 ample time to organize and campaign for 18 such elections; and 19 (ii) all candidates were permitted full 20 access to the media; 21 (2) is showing respect for the basic civil lib- 22 erties and internationally recognized human rights of 23 the citizens of Venezuela; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 995 IS (3) is committed to making constitutional 1 changes that would ensure regular free and fair elec- 2 tions and the full enjoyment of basic civil liberties 3 and internationally recognized human rights by the 4 citizens of Venezuela; 5 (4) has made demonstrable progress in estab- 6 lishing an independent judiciary; and 7 (5) has freed all wrongfully detained United 8 States nationals. 9 TITLE II—PROMOTING DEMO- 10 CRATIC CHANGE IN VEN- 11 EZUELA 12 SEC. 201. UNITED STATES POLICY REGARDING MEMBER- 13 SHIP OF VENEZUELA IN INTERNATIONAL FI- 14 NANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 16 (b)(1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 17 United States executive director of each covered inter- 18 national financial institution to use the voice and vote of 19 the United States to oppose the admission of Venezuela 20 as a member of that institution until the President sub- 21 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a deter- 22 mination under section 101(a) that a democratically elect- 23 ed government is in power in Venezuela. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 995 IS (b) STEPS AFTER TRANSITION GOVERNMENT IN 1 POWER.—On and after the date on which the President 2 submits to the appropriate congressional committees a de- 3 termination under section 101(a) that a transition govern- 4 ment is in power in Venezuela— 5 (1) the President is encouraged to take steps to 6 support the processing of the application of Ven- 7 ezuela for membership in any covered international 8 financial institution, subject to the membership tak- 9 ing effect after a democratically elected government 10 is in power in Venezuela; and 11 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized 12 to instruct the United States executive director of 13 each covered international financial institution to 14 support loans or other assistance to Venezuela only 15 to the extent that such loans or assistance con- 16 tribute to a stable foundation for a democratically 17 elected government in Venezuela. 18 (c) REDUCTION IN UNITED STATES PAYMENTS TO 19 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a covered international fi- 21 nancial institution approves a loan or other assist- 22 ance to the regime of Nicola`s Maduro or any non- 23 democratic successor government over the opposition 24 of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 995 IS shall withhold from payment to that institution an 1 amount equal to the amount of the loan or other as- 2 sistance, from either of the following types of pay- 3 ment: 4 (A) The paid-in portion of the increase in 5 capital stock of the institution. 6 (B) The callable portion of the increase in 7 capital stock of the institution. 8 (2) WAIVER.—The President may waive the re- 9 quirement under paragraph (1) if the President, not 10 later than 10 days before the waiver is to take ef- 11 fect, determines and certifies to the appropriate con- 12 gressional committees that such a waiver is in the 13 national interest of the United States. The President 14 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]