,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bbfe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ba1 
#bjag ,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,leahy1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,perdue1 ,mr4 
,menendez1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 and ,mr4      
,durbin7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,to promote democracy and the   
rule of law in ,nicaragua1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title  ,this ,act
 may be cited as the ,nicaraguan        
,investment ,conditionality ,act        
7,,nica7 of #bjag4  #b4 ,findings       
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 ,the ,committee on ,foreign        
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives convened a             
congressional hearing on ,december #a1  
#bjaa1 entitled ,democracy ,held        
,hostage in ,nicaragua3 ,part #a where  
former ,united ,states ,ambassador to   
,nicaragua ,robert ,callahan testified  
first1 that ,daniel ,ortega's candidacy 

was illegal1 illegitimate1 and          
unconstitutional2 second1 that the      
period leading to the elections and the 
elections themselves were marred by     
serious fraud2 third1 that ,daniel      
,ortega and his ,sandinista party have  
systematically undermined the country's 
fragile governmental institutions4  7#b7
 ,according to the ,organization of     
,american ,states 7,,oas7 report on the 
#bjaa ,presidential elections in        
,nicaragua1 the ,,oas recommended that  
the ,government of ,nicaragua take a    
number of steps to improve its electoral
 system1 including accrediting poll     
watchers to ensure political parties and
 civil society are represented to       
observe elections1 and redesigning the  
structure of the ,nicaraguan electoral  
council to allow proper registration of 
the electorate4  7#c7 ,on ,january #be1 
#bjab1 a press statement from ,secretary
 of ,state ,hillary ,clinton stated1 ,as
 noted by international observers and   
,nicaraguan civil society groups1       

,nicaragua's recent elections were not  
conducted in a transparent and impartial
 manner1 and the entire electoral       
process was marred by significant       
irregularities4 ,the elections marked a 
setback to democracy in ,nicaragua and  
undermined the ability of ,nicaraguans  
to hold their government accountable44  
7#d7 ,according to the ,department of   
,state's #bjae ,fiscal ,transparency    
,report3 ,nicaragua's fiscal            
transparency would be improved by       
including all off-budget revenue and    
expenditure in the budget1 auditing     
state-owned enterprises1 and conducting 
a full audit of the government's annual 
financial statements and making audit   
reports publicly available within a     
reasonable period of time44  7#e7       
,according to the ,department of        
,state's ,country ,reports on ,human    
,rights ,practices for #bjae in         
,nicaragua3 ,in #bjaa the ,supreme      
,electoral ,council 7,,cse7 announced   
the re-election of ,president ,daniel   

,ortega ,saavedra of the ,sandinista    
,national ,liberation ,front 7,,fsln7 in
 elections that international and       
domestic observers characterized as     
seriously flawed4 ,international and    
domestic organizations raised concerns  
regarding the constitutional legitimacy 
of ,ortega's re-election4 ,the #bjaa    
elections also provided the ruling party
 with a supermajority in the ,national  
,assembly1 allowing for changes in the  
constitution1 including extending the   
reach of executive branch power and the 
elimination of restrictions on          
re-election for executive branch        
officials and mayors4 ,observers noted  
serious flaws during the #bjab municipal
 elections and ,march #bjad regional    
elections44  7#f7 ,according to the     
,department of ,state's ,country        
,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices   
for #bjae in ,nicaragua3 ,the principal 
human rights abuses were restrictions on
 citizens' right to vote2 obstacles to  
freedom of speech and press1 including  

government intimidation and harassment  
of journalists and independent media1 as
 well as increased restriction of access
 to public information1 including       
national statistics from public offices2
 and increased government harassment and
 intimidation of nongovernmental        
organizations 7,n,g,os7 and civil       
society organizations4  7#g7 ,the same  
#bjae report stated3 ,additional        
significant human rights abuses included
 considerably biased policies to promote
 single-party dominance2 arbitrary      
police arrest and detention of suspects1
 including abuse during detention2 harsh
 and life-threatening prison conditions 
with arbitrary and lengthy pretrial     
detention2 discrimination against ethnic
 minorities and indigenous persons and  
communities44  7#h7 ,on ,june #g1 #bjaf1
 the ,department of ,state's ,bureau of 
,democracy1 ,human ,rights and ,labor   
posted on social media3 ,disappointed   
government of ,nicaragua said it will   
deny electoral observers requested by   

,nicaraguan citizens1 church1 and       
private sector ''' ,we continue to      
encourage the government of ,nicaragua  
to allow electoral observers as         
requested by ,nicaraguans44  7#i7 ,on   
,august #a1 #bjaf1 the ,department of   
,state issued a press release expressing
 grave concern with the ,government of  
,nicaragua limiting democratic space    
leading up to the elections in ,november
 and stated1 ,on ,june #h1 the          
,nicaraguan ,supreme ,court stripped the
 opposition ,independent ,liberal ,party
 7,,pli7 from its long recognized       
leader4 ,the ,supreme ,court took       
similar action on ,june #ag when it     
invalidated the leadership of the       
,citizen ,action ,party1 the only       
remaining opposition party with the     
legal standing to present a presidential
 candidate4 ,most recently1 on ,july    
#bi1 the ,supreme ,electoral ,council   
removed #bh ,,pli national assembly     
members 7#af seated and #ab alternates7 
from their popularly-elected positions44

  7#aj7 ,on ,november #g1 #bjaf1 the    
,department of ,state issued a press    
release stating1 ,the ,united ,states is
 deeply concerned by the flawed         
presidential and legislative electoral  
process in ,nicaragua1 which precluded  
the possibility of a free and fair      
election on ,november #f4 ,in advance of
 the elections1 the ,nicaraguan         
government sidelined opposition         
candidates for president1 limited       
domestic observation at the polls and   
access to voting credentials1 and took  
other actions to deny democratic space  
in the process4 ,the decision by the    
,nicaraguan government not to invite    
independent international electoral     
observers further degraded the          
legitimacy of the election44  7#aa7 ,in 
,november and ,december of #bjaf1 the   
,board of ,executive ,directors of the  
,inter-,american ,development ,bank     
postponed consideration of a            
policy-based loan of #fe1jjj1jjj to the 
,government of ,nicaragua due to the    

serious concerns of the ,united ,states 
mission with the absence of             
transparency1 systemic corruption1 and  
the lack of free and fair elections in  
,nicaragua4  7#ab7 ,according to the    
,department of ,state's ,country        
,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices   
for #bjaf in ,nicaragua3 actions by the 
ruling ,sandinista ,national ,liberation
 ,front 7,,fsln7 party resulted in de   
facto concentration of power in a single
 party1 with an authoritarian executive 
branch exercising significant control   
over the legislative1 judicial1 and     
electoral functions44  7#ac7 ,according 
to the ,department of ,state's ,country 
,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices   
for #bjaf in ,nicaragua3 ,the ,november 
#f elections for president1 vice        
president1 national assembly members1   
and representatives for the ,central    
,american parliament did not meet the   
conditions of being free and fair '''   
,the ,november #f presidential and      
legislative elections were marred by    

allegations of institutional fraud and  
the absence of independent opposition   
political parties4 ,national observers  
and opposition leaders claimed rates of 
abstention from #fj to #gj percent44    
7#ad7 ,according to the ,department of  
,state's ,country ,reports on ,human    
,rights ,practices for #bjaf in         
,nicaragua3 ,companies reported that    
bribery of public officials1 unlawful   
seizures1 and arbitrary assessments by  
customs and tax authorities were common 
''' ,the courts remained particularly   
susceptible to bribes1 manipulation1 and
 other forms of corruption1 especially  
by the ,,fsln1 giving the sense that the
 ,,fsln heavily influenced ,,csj and    
lower-level court actions44  7#ae7 ,on  
,december #ba1 #bjag1 the ,department of
 the ,treasury issued a press release   
announcing the designation of1 and      
sanctions against1 human rights abusers 
and corrupt actors1 including ,roberto  
,rivas1 the ,president of ,nicaragua's  
,supreme ,electoral ,council1 pursuant  

to the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights
 ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of   
title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh74  
,the press release states1 in part3 ,as 
,president of ,nicaragua's ,supreme     
,electoral ,council1 drawing a reported 
government salary of #fj1jjj per year1  
,roberto ,jose ,rivas ,reyes 7,rivas7   
has been accused in the press of        
amassing sizeable personal wealth1      
including multiple properties1 private  
jets1 luxury vehicles1 and a yacht4     
,rivas has been described by a          
,nicaraguan ,comptroller ,general as    
above the law1 with investigations into 
his corruption having been blocked by   
,nicaraguan government officials4 ,he   
has also perpetrated electoral fraud    
undermining ,nicaragua's electoral      
institutions44  #c4 ,statement of policy
 ,it is the policy of the ,united       
,states to support-- 7#a7 the rule of   
law and an independent judiciary and    
electoral council in ,nicaragua2  7#b7  
independent pro-democracy organizations 

in ,nicaragua2  7#c7 free and fair      
elections overseen by credible domestic 
and international observers in          
,nicaragua2 and  7#d7 anti-corruption   
and transparency efforts in ,nicaragua4 
#d4 ,international financial            
institutions  7a7 ,in general ,the      
,president shall instruct the ,united   
,states ,executive ,director at each    
international financial institution to  
use the voice and vote of the ,united   
,states to oppose any loan for budget   
support for the ,government of          
,nicaragua1 other than to address basic 
human needs or to promote democracy1    
unless1 in the preceding #ab months1 the
 ,secretary of ,state has certified and 
reported to the appropriate             
congressional committees that the       
,government of ,nicaragua is taking     
effective steps--  7#a7 to hold free and
 fair elections overseen by credible    
domestic and international electoral    
observers2  7#b7 to promote democracy1  
as well as an independent judicial      

system and electoral council2  7#c7 to  
strengthen the rule of law2  7#d7 to    
respect the right to freedom of         
expression and association2  7#e7 to    
combat corruption1 including            
investigating and prosecuting government
 officials credibly alleged to be       
corrupt2  7#f7 to protect the right of  
political opposition parties1           
journalists1 trade unionists1 human     
rights defenders1 and other civil       
society activists to operate without    
interference2 and  7#g7 to protect the  
rights of indigenous people4  7b7       
,report ,not later than #ahj days after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall   
submit1 to the appropriate congressional
 committees1 a written report           
assessing--  7#a7 the effectiveness of  
the international financial institutions
 in enforcing applicable program        
safeguards in ,nicaragua2 and  7#b7 the 
impact of the matters described in      
section #b on long-term prospects for   

positive development outcomes in        
,nicaragua4  7c7 ,annual reports by the 
,secretary of ,state ,the ,secretary of 
,state shall annually submit1 to the    
appropriate congressional committees1 a 
report on whether the ,government of    
,nicaragua is taking effective steps    
with respect to the matters set forth in
 subsection 7a71 and if the ,government 
of ,nicaragua is taking effective steps 
with respect to all such matters1 shall 
certify such to the appropriate         
congressional committees4  7d7          
,termination ,this section shall        
terminate on the day after the earlier  
of-- 7#a7 the date on which the         
,secretary of ,state certifies and      
reports to the appropriate congressional
 committees that the requirements under 
subsection 7a7 have been met2 or  7#b7  
#e years after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act4  7e7 ,waiver ,the        
,president may waive the requirements   
under this section if the ,president    
determines that such a waiver is in the 

national interest of the ,united        
,states4  #e4 ,report on corruption and 
money laundering in ,nicaragua  7a7     
,report requirement ,not later than #ij 
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in 
consultation with the intelligence      
community 7as defined in section #c7d7  
of the ,national ,security ,act of #aidg
 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #cjjc7d7771 shall       
submit1 to the appropriate congressional
 committees1 a report on the involvement
 of senior ,government of ,nicaragua    
officials1 including members of the     
,supreme ,electoral ,council1 the       
,national ,assembly1 and the judicial   
system1 in acts of public corruption1   
money laundering1 or human rights       
violations in ,nicaragua4  7b7 ,form    
,the report required under subsection   
7a7 shall be submitted in unclassified  
form1 but may contain a classified      
annex4 ,the unclassified portion of the 
report shall be made available to the   
public4  #f4 ,report on activities of   

certain regimes in ,nicaragua  7a7 ,in  
general ,not later than #ij days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,state1 acting through
 the ,bureau of ,intelligence and       
,research of the ,department of ,state  
and in consultation with the            
intelligence community 7as defined in   
section #c7d7 of the ,national ,security
 ,act of #aidg 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4           
#cjjc7d7771 shall submit1 to the        
appropriate congressional committees1 a 
report that describes the extent of     
cooperation by the ,governments of the  
,russian ,federation and the ,bolivarian
 ,republic of ,venezuela 7including     
,petroleos de ,venezuela1 ,s4,a4        
7,,pdvsa77 with the ,government of      
,nicaragua and the ,nicaraguan armed    
forces and security personnel4  7b7     
,form ,the report required under        
subsection 7a7 shall be submitted in    
unclassified form1 but may include a    
classified annex4 ,the unclassified     
portion of the report shall be made     

available to the public4  #g4           
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7        
,appropriate congressional committees   
,the term appropriate congressional     
committees means--  7,a7 the ,committee 
on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2  
7,b7 the ,committee on ,appropriations  
of the ,senate2  7,c7 the ,committee on 
,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs 
of the ,senate2  7,d7 the ,committee on 
,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of      
,representatives2  7,e7 the ,committee  
on ,appropriations of the ,house of     
,representatives2 and  7,f7 the         
,committee on ,financial ,services of   
the ,house of ,representatives4  7#b7   
,international financial institution    
,the term international financial       
institution includes-- 7,a7 the         
,international ,monetary ,fund2  7,b7   
the ,international ,bank for            
,reconstruction and ,development2  7,c7 
the ,international ,development         
,association2  7,d7 the ,international  
,finance ,corporation2  7,e7 the        

,multilateral ,investment ,guarantee    
,agency2  7,f7 the ,inter-,american     
,development ,bank2 and  7,g7 the       
,inter-,american ,investment            
,corporation4