ItNo they had the 4th economy in 1950, what most countries were in ruins.
www.crs.gov | 7-5700
Updated November 21, 2018
Venezuela: Overview of U.S. Sanctions
For more than a decade, the United States has employed
sanctions as a policy tool in response to activities of the
Venezuelan government or Venezuelan individuals. These
have included sanctions, including targeted sanctions
against almost 90 individuals, related to terrorism, drug
trafficking, trafficking in persons, antidemocratic actions,
human rights violations, and corruption.
Terrorism-Related Sanctions
Since 2006, U.S. officials have expressed concerns about
Venezuela’s lack of cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts.
Since then, the Secretary of State has made an annual
determination that Venezuela is not “cooperating fully with
United States anti-terrorism efforts” pursuant to Section
40A of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2781). The
most recent determination was made in May 2018. As a
result, the United States has prohibited all U.S. commercial
arms sales and retransfers to Venezuela since 2006.
In 2008, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions (asset
freezing and prohibitions on transactions) on two
individuals and two travel agencies in Venezuela for
providing financial support to the radical Lebanon-based
Islamic Shiite group Hezbollah. The action was taken
pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, aimed at
impeding terrorist funding.
Drug Trafficking-Related Sanctions
U.S. concerns about the lack of Venezuelan cooperation on
counternarcotics efforts date back to 2005, when Venezuela
suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration. Since 2005, the President has made an
annual determination, pursuant to procedures set forth in
the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY2003 (P.L.
107-228, §706; 22 U.S.C. 2291j), that Venezuela has failed
demonstrably to adhere to its obligations under
international narcotics agreements. President Trump made
the most recent determination for FY2019 in September
2018, when he also waived foreign assistance restrictions
for programs to support the promotion of democracy in
Venezuela.
The Treasury Department has imposed economic sanctions
on at least 22 individuals with connections to Venezuela
and 27 companies by designating them as Specially
Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign
Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act; P.L. 106-
120, Title VIII; 21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).
Designated individuals include several current or former
Venezuelan officials: in 2008, General Hugo Carvajal
(former military intelligence head), General Henry Rangel
Silva (former defense minister and governor of Trujillo
State), and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín (former interior
minister and former governor of Guárico); in 2011, Freddy
Alirio Bernal Rosales and Amilicar Jesus Figueroa Salazar
(United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, politicians),
Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, and
Ramon Isidro Madriz Moreno (a Venezuelan intelligence
officer); in 2017, then-Vice President Tareck el Aissami;
and in May 2018, Pedro Luis Martin (a former senior
intelligence official) and two of his associates. Others
designated include drug trafficker Walid Makled, three dual
Lebanese-Venezuelan citizens allegedly involved in a drug
money-laundering network, and several Colombian drug
traffickers with activity in Venezuela.
Trafficking in Persons Sanctions
Since 2014, Venezuela has been on the State Department’s
Tier 3 list in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Tier 3
countries are those whose governments do not fully comply
with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act (P.L. 106-386, Division A, 22 U.S.C. 7101
et seq.) and are not making significant efforts to do so. Tier
3 countries are subject to a variety of U.S. aid restrictions,
although the President may waive prohibitions for national
interest reasons. In September 2017, President Trump
waived sanctions for health and democracy-related
assistance to Venezuela.
Targeted Sanctions Related to Antidemocratic
Actions, Human Rights Violations, and Corruption
In response to increasing repression in Venezuela, Congress
enacted the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil
Society Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-278; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) in
December 2014. Among its provisions, the law requires the
President to impose sanctions (asset blocking and visa
restrictions) against those whom the President determines
are responsible for significant acts of violence or serious
human rights abuses associated with February 2014 protests
or, more broadly, against anyone who 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. In July 2016, Congress extended
the 2014 act through 2019 in P.L. 114-194.
In March 2015, President Obama issued E.O. 13692 to
implement P.L. 113-278, and Treasury Department
regulations were issued in July 2015 (31 C.F.R. Part 591).
The E.O. targets (for asset blocking and visa restrictions)
those involved in actions or policies undermining
democratic processes or institutions; those involved in acts
of violence or conduct constituting a serious human rights
abuse; those taking actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize
the exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly;
public corruption by senior Venezuelan officials; and any
person determined to be a current or former leader of any
entity engaged in any activity described above or a current
or former official of the government of Venezuela.
and they just made it impossible for Venezuela to sell oil to the United States, 40% of their market, and with many other countries... Screw Venezuelan oligarchs and American oligarchs... All scumbags.
