Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela, 12747-12750 [X15-10311]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 12747-12750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: X15-10311]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 47 / Wednesday, March 11, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 12747]]

                Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015

                
Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain 
                Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the International Emergency Economic 
                Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the 
                National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 
                (NEA), the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil 
                Society Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-278) (the 
                ``Venezuela Defense of Human Rights Act'') (the 
                ``Act''), section 212(f) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)) (INA), and 
                section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

                I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of 
                America, find that the situation in Venezuela, 
                including the Government of Venezuela's erosion of 
                human rights guarantees, persecution of political 
                opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use of 
                violence and human rights violations and abuses in 
                response to antigovernment protests, and arbitrary 
                arrest and detention of antigovernment protestors, as 
                well as the exacerbating presence of significant public 
                corruption, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary 
                threat to the national security and foreign policy of 
                the United States, and I hereby declare a national 
                emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order:

                Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property 
                that are in the United States, that hereafter come 
                within the United States, or that are or hereafter come 
                within the possession or control of any United States 
                person of the following persons are blocked and may not 
                be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise 
                dealt in:

(i) the persons listed in the Annex to this order; and

(ii) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State:

(A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, 
controlling, or otherwise directing, or to have participated in, directly 
or indirectly, any of the following in or in relation to Venezuela:

(1) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or 
institutions;

(2) significant acts of violence or conduct that constitutes a serious 
abuse or violation of human rights, including against persons involved in 
antigovernment protests in Venezuela in or since February 2014;

(3) actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of 
expression or peaceful assembly; or

(4) public corruption by senior officials within the Government of 
Venezuela;

(B) to be a current or former leader of an entity that has, or whose 
members have, engaged in any activity described in subsection (a)(ii)(A) of 
this section or of an entity whose property and interests in property are 
blocked pursuant to this order;

(C) to be a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela;

(D) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, 
material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in 
support of:

(1) a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant 
to this order; or

[[Page 12748]]

(2) an activity described in subsection (a)(ii)(A) of this section; or

(E) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for 
or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and 
interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

                    (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this 
                section apply except to the extent provided by 
                statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
                licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and 
                notwithstanding any contract entered into or any 
                license or permit granted prior to the effective date 
                of this order.

                Sec. 2. I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant 
                and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens 
                determined to meet one or more of the criteria in 
                subsection 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to 
                the interests of the United States, and I hereby 
                suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or 
                nonimmigrants, of such persons, except where the 
                Secretary of State determines that the person's entry 
                is in the national interest of the United States. This 
                section 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 Nations, signed at Lake 
                Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 
                21, 1947, or other applicable international 
                obligations.

                Sec. 3. I hereby determine that the making of donations 
                of the type of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) 
                of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the 
                benefit of any person whose property and interests in 
                property are blocked pursuant to section 1 of this 
                order would seriously impair my ability to deal with 
                the national emergency declared in this order, and I 
                hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 
                of this order.

                Sec. 4. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order 
                include but are not limited to:

                    (a) the making of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of 
                any person whose property and interests in property are 
                blocked pursuant to this order; and
                    (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services from any such person.

                Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has 
                the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation 
                of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set 
                forth in this order is prohibited.

                    (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the 
                prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

                Sec. 6. For the purposes of this order:

                    (a) the term ``person'' means an individual or 
                entity;
                    (b) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, 
                association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, 
                subgroup, or other organization;
                    (c) the term ``United States person'' means any 
                United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity 
                organized under the laws of the United States or any 
                jurisdiction within the United States (including 
                foreign branches), or any person in the United States;
                    (d) the term ``Government of Venezuela'' means the 
                Government of Venezuela, any political subdivision, 
                agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the 
                Central Bank of Venezuela, and any person owned or 
                controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the 
                Government of Venezuela.

                Sec. 7. For those persons whose property and interests 
                in property are blocked pursuant to this order who 
                might have a constitutional presence in the United 
                States, I find that because of the ability to transfer 
                funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to 
                such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this 
                order would render those measures ineffectual. I 
                therefore determine that for these measures to be 
                effective in addressing

[[Page 12749]]

                the national emergency declared in this order, there 
                need be no prior notice of a listing or determination 
                made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

                Sec. 8. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to 
                take such actions, including the promulgation of rules 
                and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to 
                the President by IEEPA and section 5 of the Venezuela 
                Defense of Human Rights Act, other than the authorities 
                contained in sections 5(b)(1)(B) and 5(c) of that Act, 
                as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
                order, with the exception of section 2 of this order, 
                and the relevant provisions of section 5 of that Act. 
                The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of 
                these functions to other officers and agencies of the 
                United States Government consistent with applicable 
                law. All agencies of the United States Government are 
                hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within 
                their authority to carry out the provisions of this 
                order.

                Sec. 9. The Secretary of State is hereby authorized to 
                take such actions, including the promulgation of rules 
                and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to 
                the President by IEEPA, the INA, and section 5 of the 
                Venezuela Defense of Human Rights Act, including the 
                authorities set forth in sections 5(b)(1)(B), 5(c), and 
                5(d) of that Act, as may be necessary to carry out 
                section 2 of this order and the relevant provisions of 
                section 5 of that Act. The Secretary of State may 
                redelegate any of these functions to other officers and 
                agencies of the United States Government consistent 
                with applicable law.

                Sec. 10. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to 
                determine that circumstances no longer warrant the 
                blocking of the property and interests in property of a 
                person listed in the Annex to this order, and to take 
                necessary action to give effect to that determination.

                Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to 
                submit the recurring and final reports to the Congress 
                on the national emergency declared in this order, 
                consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 
                1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 
                1703(c)).

                Sec. 12. This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.

[[Page 12750]]

                Sec. 13. This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern 
                daylight time on March 9, 2015.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    March 8, 2015.

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