Message to the Congress on Taking Additional Steps To Address the National Emergency With Respect to Venezuela

To the Congress of the United States:

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order with respect to Venezuela that takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13808 of August 24, 2017, Executive Order 13827 of March 19, 2018, Executive Order 13835 of May 21, 2018, and Executive Order 13850 of November 1, 2018.

The Executive Order I have issued accounts for the swearing in of a legitimate Interim President of Venezuela, and addresses actions by persons affiliated with the illegitimate Maduro regime, including human rights violations and abuses in response to anti-Maduro protests, arbitrary arrest and detention of anti-Maduro protestors, curtailment of press freedom, harassment of political opponents, and continued attempts to undermine the Interim President of Venezuela and undermine the Venezuelan National Assembly. The Executive Order amends subsection (d) of section 6 of Executive Order 13692, subsection (d) of section 3 of Executive Order 13808, subsection (d) of section 3 of Executive Order 13827, subsection (d) of section 3 of Executive Order 13835, and subsection (d) of section 6 of Executive Order 13850, to read:

"(d) the term "Government of Venezuela" includes the state and Government of Venezuela, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Venezuela and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), any person owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the foregoing, and any person who has acted or purported to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of, any of the foregoing, including as a member of the Maduro regime."

I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

DONALD J. TRUMP

The White House,

January 25, 2019.