U.S. House passes measure to ban contracts with Venezuela
The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed the Banning Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime Act.
U.S. Reps. Mike Waltz, R-FL, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL, introduced the legislation in February, which seeks to extend existing restrictions on U.S. government contracts with Venezuela to include all U.S. agencies, not just the Department of Defense.
“Venezuela is in crisis due to the illegitimate, authoritarian rule and the Marxist policies of Nicolas Maduro and his Caracas cartel,” said Waltz in a statement.
The bill recently advanced out of the House Oversight Committee but required further approval from the full House and Senate.
The bill would prohibit contracts with entities conducting business with the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro or any successor regime not recognized by the United States and aims to cut any financial resources potentially supporting the Maduro regime.
The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration. A similar version of the legislation passed the Senate unanimously in the previous Congress.
Once both chambers have approved the bill, President Joe Biden’s signature will be required to make it law.
The Bolivar Act builds on provisions from the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which limited the Department of Defense from contracting with companies tied to the Maduro regime.
If passed, the bill would broaden its reach across federal agencies while providing exemptions for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief contracts.
Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has been accused of consolidating power through undemocratic means, including fraudulent elections. In 2024, his reelection was widely condemned as illegitimate, with allegations of vote tampering and intimidation of opposition leaders.
Maduro is also facing allegations of human rights abuses, corruption, and involvement in illegal narcotics trafficking. U.S. prosecutors have charged Maduro with running a drug cartel that allegedly uses cocaine trafficking as a tool to sustain the regime.
Waltz continued, “Maduro and his cronies have mocked and ignored the electoral will of the Venezuelan people, inciting violent action against the democratic opposition. Our policy must be based on solidarity with the brave activists that strive to break the shackles of oppression and not provide aid and comfort to their oppressors. We must maintain existing sanctions against the regime and seek to expand sanctions to minimize Maduro’s resources to abuse the freedoms and prosperity of the Venezuelan people.”
Waltz stated that the legislation sends a “clear and powerful” message to Maduro and dictators around the world that there will be no appeasement, tolerance, or reward for their rogue, illegal actions. Waltz said he encourages the Senate to quickly pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk for signature.
Waltz has spoken publicly about Maduro’s alleged election tampering and human rights abuses, emphasizing the thousands imprisoned for opposing the regime and exiling Venezuela’s legitimate president-elect, Edmundo Gonzalez, to Spain.
“Over the last decade, I’ve fought for tough sanctions against the Maduro regime, robust humanitarian aid, and international pressure to protect human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela. But unless the U.S. divests from shady corporate interests that enable Maduro’s corruption and election theft, we can’t truly say we are committed to the Venezuelan people,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz.
“I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation that will cut off Maduro’s support network and send the clear message that Americans will not tolerate anti-democratic repression—and we certainly won’t subsidize it.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL, introduced a bill earlier this month that would increase the maximum reward from $15 million to $100 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction. The Act would use seized assets instead of U.S. taxpayer money.
