The National Assembly of Venezuela approved a law that “establishes heavy punishments for all Venezuelan people, born here or with Venezuelan citizenship, who request, promote or support requests for sanctions, blockade of the country, military invasions or any foreign damage they want to cause to Venezuela.”
The vote on the initiative was scheduled for this Thursday (28), according to a statement released by the National Assembly of Venezuela and according to an announcement published on the website of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
The controversial project contemplates “the political disqualification of people who ‘help and ally with foreign agents to impose unilateral coercive measures on the people’” of Venezuela.
The United States announced that it will impose sanctions on more than 20 officials close to Maduro to pressure the Venezuelan president to accept the election results.
Likewise, the law promoted by the Government includes “people who have never held public functions”, who could be “politically disqualified for more than 30 years if they ally themselves with foreign powers”.
Some critics have pointed out that the law violates article 67 of the Venezuelan Constitution, which guarantees the right to “associate for political purposes, through democratic methods of organization, operation and direction.”
The legislative project contemplates the application of the Domain Extension Law to all those who, according to the text, “promote, participate, publicize or advocate” against the “Venezuelan people”. According to deputy Carlos Mogollón (PSUV-Distrito Capital), this action is an “aggravating factor” for the crime of “treason”.
The Domain Extension Law in Venezuela “establishes mechanisms that allow the identification, location and recovery of assets and patrimonial effects originating from or intended for illicit activities”.
In other words, it allows the Venezuelan government to confiscate your assets, which could violate the Constitution.
Punishment of Venezuelans in response to the US
The Venezuelan law comes in response to the approval on Monday in the United States House of the Law that Prohibits Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Authoritarian Regime of Venezuela, also known as the “Bolívar Law”, which, among other issues, aims to end contracts of the US government with Venezuela.
“By approving the Bolívar Law, the Chamber of Deputies sends a clear message that the United States will never do business with a tyrant like Maduro”, indicates a statement from the office of Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar. The law now goes to the Senate.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado applauded this initiative, which caused the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office to open a case against her for possible treason and President Nicolás Maduro to openly criticize the “Bolívar Law”.
THE CNN contacted Machado to comment on the investigation announced by the Public Ministry.
The bill prohibits bilateral commercial exchanges between individuals, corporations, companies, business associations, partnerships, funds or any other non-governmental organization or group. It also affects any government institution and any related entity.
If passed in the Senate, the law will affect any contracts entered into within three years of the legislation’s implementation. The law does not apply to transactions that have humanitarian purposes that help the Venezuelan people, natural disaster relief, withdrawals from non-combat areas or that defend United States interests in the region.
The transactions referred to in the law are those carried out directly with the Government of Venezuela, according to the project. “The term ‘Government of Venezuela’ includes the government, agency or institution of the Venezuelan government,” the text states. This could affect the operations of North American oil companies, such as Chevron, in Venezuelan territory.
This content was originally published in Venezuela approves law against those who “support requests for sanctions” on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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