#aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,s4   
#badb  ,,an ,,act  ,to impose targeted  
sanctions on persons responsible for    
violations of human rights of           
antigovernment protesters in ,venezuela1
 to strengthen civil society in         
,venezuela1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,venezuela ,defense of ,human      
,rights and ,civil ,society ,act of     
#bjad4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes   
the following findings3 7#a7 ,the       
,central ,bank of ,venezuela and the    
,national ,statistical ,institute of    
,venezuela stated that the annual       
inflation rate in ,venezuela in #bjac   
was #ef4cj1 the highest level of        
inflation in the ,western ,hemisphere   
and the third highest level of inflation
 in the world behind ,south ,sudan and  
,syria4  7#b7 ,the ,central ,bank of    
,venezuela and the ,government of       
,venezuela have imposed a series of     
currency controls that has exacerbated  
economic problems and1 according to the 

,world ,economic ,forum1 has become the 
most problematic factor for doing       
business in ,venezuela4  7#c7 ,the      
,central ,bank of ,venezuela declared   
that the scarcity index of ,venezuela   
reached #bi4d percent in ,march #bjad1  
which signifies that fewer than one in  
#d basic goods is unavailable at any    
given time4 ,the ,central ,bank has not 
released any information on the scarcity
 index since that time4  7#d7 ,since    
#aiii1 violent crime in ,venezuela has  
risen sharply and the ,venezuelan       
,violence ,observatory1 an independent  
nongovernmental organization1 found the 
national per capita murder rate to be   
#gi per #ajj1jjj people in #bjac4  7#e7 
,the international nongovernmental      
organization ,human ,rights ,watch      
recently stated1 ,under the leadership  
of ,president ,chvez and now ,president 
,maduro1 the accumulation of power in   
the executive branch and the erosion of 
human rights guarantees have enabled the
 government to intimidate1 censor1 and  

prosecute its critics44  7#f7 ,the      
,country ,reports on ,human ,rights     
,practices for #bjac 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 political1 union1 business1   
and civil society leaders who were      
critical of government policies or      
actions4  7#g7 ,the ,government of      
,venezuela has detained foreign         
journalists and threatened and expelled 
international media outlets operating in
 ,venezuela1 and the international      
nongovernmental organization ,freedom   
,house declared that ,venezuela's media 
climate is permeated by intimidation1   
sometimes including physical attacks1   
and strong antimedia rhetoric by the    
government is common4  7#h7 ,since      
,february #d1 #bjad1 the ,government of 
,venezuela has responded to             

antigovernment protests with violence   
and killings perpetrated by its public  
security forces4  7#i7 ,in ,may #bjad1  
,human ,rights ,watch found that the    
unlawful use of force perpetrated       
against antigovernment protesters was   
part of a systematic practice by the    
,venezuelan security forces4  7#aj7 ,as 
of ,september #a1 #bjad1 #da people had 
been killed1 approximately #c1jjj had   
been arrested unjustly1 and more than   
#aej remained in prison and faced       
criminal charges as a result of         
antigovernment demonstrations throughout
 ,venezuela4  7#aa7 ,opposition leader  
,leopoldo ,lopez was arrested on        
,february #ah1 #bjad1 in relation to the
 protests and was unjustly charged with 
criminal incitement1 conspiracy1 arson1 
and property damage4 ,since his arrest1 
,lopez has been held in solitary        
confinement and has been denied #eh out 
of #fj of his proposed witnesses at his 
ongoing trial4  7#ab7 ,as of ,september 
#a1 #bjad1 not a single member of the   

public security forces of the           
,government of ,venezuela had been held 
accountable for acts of violence        
perpetrated against antigovernment      
protesters4  #c4 ,sense of ,congress    
regarding antigovernment protests in    
,venezuela and the need to prevent      
further violence in ,venezuela ,it is   
the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 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 security1 including              
counternarcotics and counterterrorism2  
7#b7 the ,united ,states supports the   
people of ,venezuela in their efforts to
 realize their full economic potential  
and to advance representative democracy1
 human rights1 and the rule of law      
within their country2  7#c7 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 ,venezuela2  7#d7 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 and corrupt in the world2  7#e7 
the ,government of ,venezuela continues 
to take steps to remove checks and      
balances on the executive1 politicize   
the judiciary1 undermine the            
independence of the legislature through 
use of executive decree powers1         
persecute and prosecute its political   
opponents1 curtail freedom of the press1
 and limit the free expression of its   
citizens2  7#f7 ,venezuelans1 responding
 to ongoing economic hardship1 high     
levels of crime and violence1 and the   
lack of basic political rights and      
individual freedoms1 have turned out in 
demonstrations in ,caracas and          
throughout the country to protest the   
failure of the ,government of ,venezuela
 to protect the political and economic  

well-being of its citizens2 and  7#g7   
the repeated use of violence perpetrated
 by the ,national ,guard and security   
personnel of ,venezuela1 as well as     
persons acting on behalf of the         
,government of ,venezuela1 against      
antigovernment protesters that began on 
,february #d1 #bjad1 is intolerable and 
the use of unprovoked violence by       
protesters is also a matter of serious  
concern4  #d4 ,united ,states policy    
toward ,venezuela ,it is the policy of  
the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 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 ,states2     
7#b7 to work in concert with the other  
member states within the ,organization  
of ,american ,states1 as well as the    
countries of the ,european ,union1 to   
ensure the peaceful resolution of the   
current situation in ,venezuela and the 

immediate cessation of violence against 
antigovernment protestors2  7#c7 to hold
 accountable government and security    
officials in ,venezuela responsible for 
or complicit in the use of force in     
relation to antigovernment protests and 
similar future acts of violence2 and    
7#d7 to continue to support the         
development of democratic political     
processes and independent civil society 
in ,venezuela4  #e4 ,sanctions on       
persons responsible for violence in     
,venezuela  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,president shall impose the sanctions   
described in subsection 7b7 with respect
 to any foreign person1 including any   
current or former official of the       
,government of ,venezuela or any person 
acting on behalf of that ,government1   
that the ,president determines-- 7#a7   
has perpetrated1 or is responsible for  
ordering or otherwise directing1        
significant acts of violence or serious 
human rights abuses in ,venezuela       
against persons associated with the     

antigovernment protests in ,venezuela   
that began on ,february #d1 #bjad2  7#b7
 has ordered or otherwise directed the  
arrest or prosecution of a person in    
,venezuela primarily because of the     
person's legitimate exercise of freedom 
of expression or assembly2 or  7#c7 has 
knowingly materially assisted1          
sponsored1 or provided significant      
financial1 material1 or technological   
support for1 or goods or services in    
support of1 the commission of acts      
described in paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b74    
7b7 ,sanctions described  7#a7 ,in      
general ,the sanctions described in this
 subsection are the following3 7,a7     
,asset blocking ,the exercise of all    
powers granted to the ,president by the 
,international ,emergency ,economic     
,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et    
seq47 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 7a7 if such    

property and interests in property are  
in the ,united ,states1 come within the 
,united ,states1 or are or come within  
the possession or control of a ,united  
,states person4  7,b7 ,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  
7a71 denial of a visa to1 and exclusion 
from the ,united ,states of1 the alien1 
and revocation in accordance with       
section #bba7;i7 of the ,immigration and
 ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4        
#abja7;i771 of any visa or other        
documentation of the alien4  7#b7       
,penalties ,a person that violates1     
attempts to violate1 conspires to       
violate1 or causes a violation of       
paragraph 7#a77;,a7 or any regulation1  
license1 or order issued to carry out   
paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall be subject to 
the penalties set forth in subsections  
7b7 and 7c7 of section #bjf of the      
,international ,emergency ,economic     

,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agje7 to   
the same extent as a person that commits
 an unlawful act described in subsection
 7a7 of that section4  7#c7 ,exception  
relating to importation of goods ,the   
requirement to block and prohibit all   
transactions in all property and        
interests in property under paragraph   
7#a77;,a7 shall not include the         
authority to impose sanctions on the    
importation of goods4  7#d7 ,exception  
to comply with united nations           
headquarters agreement ,sanctions under 
paragraph 7#a77;,b7 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 ,nations1 signed at ,lake
 ,success ,june #bf1 #aidg1 and entered 
into force ,november #ba1 #aidg1 between
 the ,united ,nations and the ,united   
,states1 or other applicable            
international obligations4  7c7 ,waiver 
,the ,president may waive the           

application of sanctions under          
subsection 7b7 with respect to a person 
if the ,president-- 7#a7 determines that
 such a waiver is in the national       
interest of the ,united ,states2 and    
7#b7 on or before the date on which the 
waiver takes effect1 submits to the     
,committee on ,foreign ,relations and   
the ,committee on ,banking ,housing1 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 waiver4    
7d7 ,regulatory authority ,the          
,president shall issue such regulations1
 licenses1 and orders as are necessary  
to carry out this section4  7e7         
,termination ,the requirement to impose 
sanctions under this section shall      
terminate on ,december #ca1 #bjaf4  7f7 
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,admitted2 alien ,the terms admitted and
 alien have the meanings given those    
terms in section #aja of the            

,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aaja74  7#b7 ,financial      
institution ,the term financial         
institution has the meaning given that  
term in section #ecab of title #ca1     
,united ,states ,code4  7#c7 ,foreign   
person ,the term foreign person means a 
person that is not a ,united ,states    
person4  7#d7 ,good ,the term good has  
the meaning given that term in section  
#af of the ,export ,administration ,act 
of #aigi 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 ,app4 #bdae7 7as
 continued in effect pursuant to the    
,international ,emergency ,economic     
,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et    
seq4774  7#e7 ,knowingly ,the term      
knowingly1 with respect to conduct1 a   
circumstance1 or a result1 means that a 
person has actual knowledge1 or should  
have known1 of the conduct1 the         
circumstance1 or the result4  7#f7      
,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 7#a7 or 7#b7 of  
subsection 7a74  7#g7 ,united states    
person ,the term ,united ,states person 
means-- 7,a7 a ,united ,states citizen  
or an alien lawfully admitted for       
permanent residence to the ,united      
,states2 or  7,b7 an entity organized   
under the laws of the ,united ,states or
 of any jurisdiction within the ,united 
,states1 including a foreign branch of  
such an entity4  #f4 ,report on         
broadcasting1 information distribution1 
and circumvention technology            
distribution in ,venezuela  7a7 ,in     
general ,not later than #cj days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,chairman of the ,broadcasting      
,board of ,governors 7in this section   
referred to as the ,board7 shall submit 
to ,congress a report that includes--   
7#a7 a thorough evaluation of the       
governmental1 political1 and            
technological obstacles faced by the    
people of ,venezuela in their efforts to
 obtain accurate1 objective1 and        

comprehensive news and information about
 domestic and international affairs2    
7#b7 an assessment of current efforts   
relating to broadcasting1 information   
distribution1 and circumvention         
technology distribution in ,venezuela1  
by the ,united ,states ,government and  
otherwise2 and  7#c7 a strategy for     
expanding such efforts in ,venezuela1   
including recommendations for additional
 measures to expand upon current        
efforts4  7b7 ,elements ,the report     
required by subsection 7a7 shall        
include-- 7#a7 an assessment of the     
current level of ,federal funding       
dedicated to broadcasting1 information  
distribution1 and circumvention         
technology distribution in ,venezuela by
 the ,board before the date of the      
enactment of this ,act2  7#b7 an        
assessment of the extent to which the   
current level and type of news and      
related programming and content provided
 by the ,voice of ,america and other    
sources is addressing the informational 

needs of the people of ,venezuela2 and  
7#c7 recommendations for increasing     
broadcasting1 information distribution1 
and circumvention technology            
distribution in ,venezuela4  ,passed the
 ,senate ,december #h1 #bjad4,secretary