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Lawmakers Reintroduce Venezuela Sanctions Bills

Lawmakers this week reintroduced two Venezuela sanctions bills as the new 119th Congress gears up for business.

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The Venezuela Advancing Liberty, Opportunity and Rights Act (VALOR Act), offered by a bipartisan group of seven senators, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, would create “democratic benchmarks” to guide the removal of sanctions on Venezuela (see 2408220050). It also would codify financial sanctions on the Venezuelan Central Bank, state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., and Venezuelan cryptocurrency.

The VALOR Act is intended to promote democracy in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro has refused to concede he lost re-election in July to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. Maduro's inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Separately, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Maria Salazar, R-Fla., announced Jan. 9 that they have reintroduced the Revoke Exemptions for Venezuelan Oil to Curb Autocratic Repression Act (REVOCAR Act), which would prohibit U.S. firms from doing certain business with Venezuela’s energy sector, including its state-owned oil company, until Maduro concedes he lost the election (see 2410160026). The bill would specifically eliminate certain Venezuela-related general licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Wasserman Schultz and Salazar said their bill would cut off oil revenue that Maduro uses to stifle political dissent. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., plans to introduce companion legislation in the Senate.