President Obama Orders Sanctions Against Venezuela Including Immigration Limits | Practical Law

President Obama Orders Sanctions Against Venezuela Including Immigration Limits | Practical Law

On March 8, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order imposing sanctions on certain parties in Venezuela. The Executive Order is directed at any person or entity found to have engaged in or supported human rights violations and public corruption in Venezuela. The Executive Order includes restrictions on immigrant and nonimmigrant entries for Venezuelans found by the Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of State) to meet the terms of the Executive Order.

President Obama Orders Sanctions Against Venezuela Including Immigration Limits

Practical Law Legal Update 8-604-6205 (Approx. 3 pages)

President Obama Orders Sanctions Against Venezuela Including Immigration Limits

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 17 Mar 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
On March 8, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order imposing sanctions on certain parties in Venezuela. The Executive Order is directed at any person or entity found to have engaged in or supported human rights violations and public corruption in Venezuela. The Executive Order includes restrictions on immigrant and nonimmigrant entries for Venezuelans found by the Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of State) to meet the terms of the Executive Order.
On March 8, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order imposing sanctions on certain parties in Venezuela (Executive Order 13692, 80 Fed. Reg. 12747, ). The Executive Order builds on the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act, enacted in late 2014 as a response to a Venezuelan government crackdown on anti-government protesters throughout 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-278, 128 Stat. 3011 (2014)). Sanctions are imposed against:
  • Seven named individuals who are current and former government officials believed to have engaged in human rights violations and public corruption.
  • Any person or entity determined by the US Department of the Treasury (in consultation with the Department of State) to:
    • be responsible for, complicit in or have participated in human rights violations or public corruption;
    • be a current or former leader of an entity that has engaged in human rights violations or public corruption;
    • be a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela;
    • have materially assisted, sponsored or provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, human rights violations or public corruption or a person whose interests are blocked by the sanctions; or
    • be owned or controlled by or act directly or indirectly for any person whose interests are blocked by the sanctions.
Sanctions against subject individuals and entities include:
  • A block on all property and interests in property that are in the US, enter the US or come under the control of a person or entity in the US. Property interests include any entities at least 50% owned by a blocked individual or entity.
  • A ban on all nonimmigrant or immigrant entries, unless the Secretary of State determines the entry is in the US national interest.
The sanctions program is administered by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). OFAC maintains a website devoted specifically to Venezuela-related sanctions.
Although the Venezuela sanctions program is directed at specific parties and individuals and entities that support public corruption or human rights violations, it may impact employers in the US that do business with Venezuelan-related entities or employ Venezuelan citizens. For more information on the commercial implications of the sanctions, see Legal Update, President Obama Orders New Sanctions Related to Venezuela. Persons or entities blocked under the sanctions are subject to travel restrictions (see Department of State: Venezuela-Related Sanctions).