A/HRC/42/46 21. Based on this move by Congress, and acting pursuant to the powers vested in him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act, then United States President Obama declared a national emergency with respect to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as early as 2015,23 finding 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.24 This declaration, contained in executive order 13692, paved the way for sanctions to be imposed on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 22. At first, the sanctions, which included the freezing of assets located in the United States and a ban on entry into United States territory, targeted various designated highranking officials of the armed forces and security services. But that initial sanction regime already had the potential to be extended to “any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to be responsible for or complicit in … or to have participated in, directly or indirectly” in certain actions or behaviour in relation to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela unilaterally determined by the United States as being illicit, such as “actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions”, “actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly” or “public corruption by senior officials within the Government of Venezuela”.25 23. Another ground for being targeted by United States sanctions is “to be a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela”,26 which is particularly disturbing because it ascribes guilt on the basis of a person’s association to the Government, not the commission of any wrongful act. In executive order 13692, the “Government of Venezuela” is defined the Government, any political subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government. To date, the Department of the Treasury has imposed financial sanctions on 80 Venezuelans pursuant to executive order 13692. 24. Under the Obama Administration, the Department of the Treasury froze the assets of seven Venezuelans: six members of the national security forces and one prosecutor involved in repressing anti-government protesters. From May 2017 to March 2019, under the Trump Administration, and as the political situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has deteriorated, the Department sanctioned an additional 73 government and military officials. These officials include President Maduro and his wife; the Executive Vice-President; eight Supreme Court members; the leaders of the army, the national guard and the national police; and four state governors. 25. During the same period, the United States imposed broader financial sanctions on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela through three additional executive orders “because of the government’s serious human rights abuses, antidemocratic actions, and responsibility for the deepening humanitarian crisis”.27 In August 2017, President Trump issued executive order 13808, which prohibits access to the United States financial markets, including its debt and equity markets, by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including its oil company Petróleos de Venezuela. It is noted that the executive order includes certain exceptions to minimize the impact on the Venezuelan people and United 23 24 25 26 27 Executive order 13692 of 8 March 2015, “Blocking property and suspending entry of certain persons contributing to the situation in Venezuela”, Federal Register, vol. 80, No. 47 (11 March 2015). Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Congressional Research Service, “Venezuela: overview of US sanctions” (8 March 2019). 7