Sec. 9. Concerns and report on the involvement of Venezuelan officials in corruption and illicit narcotics trafficking
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Congress makes the following findings: The deterioration of governance in Venezuela has been exacerbated by the involvement of senior officials of the Government of Venezuela, including members of the National Electoral Council, the judicial system, and the Venezuelan security forces, in acts of corruption and illicit narcotics trafficking and related money laundering. In March 2015, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network determined that approximately $2,000,000,000 had been siphoned from Venezuela’s public oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., in conjunction with its designation of the Banca Privada d’Andorra as a Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern.
On August 1, 2016, General Nestor Reverol, Venezuela’s current Minister of Interior and former National Guard commander, was indicted in a United States district court for participating in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy. On November 18, 2016, Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of President Maduro and Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores, were convicted in a United States district court on charges of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.
On February 13, 2017, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Venezuelan Vice President Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah for his involvement in illicit narcotics trafficking, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ( 21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.; title VIII of Public Law 106–120 ). The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated additional individuals and senior Venezuelan officials for their involvement in illicit narcotics trafficking, pursuant to such Act, including— Venezuelan national Samark Jose Lopez Bello, who is the primary front man and money launderer for Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah;
Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, who is the current National Assembly Deputy and the former Director of Venezuela’s Military Intelligence Directorate; Henry de Jesus Rangel Silva, who is the current Governor of Trujillo State and the former Director of Venezuela’s Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services; Ramon Emilio Rodriguez Chacin, who previously served as the Minister of Interior; and Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales, who previously served as the Mayor of the Libertador municipality of Caracas.
In this section: The term corruption means the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement. The term grand corruption means corruption committed at a high level of government that— distorts policies or the central functioning of the country; and enables leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, acting through the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and in consultation with the intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003(4) )), shall submit a report to Congress that describes the involvement of senior officials of the Government of Venezuela, including members of the National Electoral Council, the judicial system, and the Venezuelan security forces, in acts of corruption in Venezuela, with a specific emphasis on acts of grand corruption.
The report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall— describe how the acts of corruption described in the report pose direct challenges for United States national security and international security; identify individuals that frustrate the ability of the United States to combat illicit narcotics trafficking; and include input from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The report under paragraph
(1)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The unclassified portion of the report shall be made available to the public.
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- Pub. L. 106-120
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Sec. 9
Concerns and report on the involvement of Venezuelan officials in corruption and illicit narcotics trafficking
Pub. L.Pub. L. 106-120
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