The Venezuela Advancing Liberty, Opportunity, and Rights Act of 2024 (VALOR Act) is a comprehensive sanctions and foreign policy bill aimed at promoting democratic change in Venezuela. The legislation establishes clear benchmarks for recognizing a democratically elected government in Venezuela, including requirements for free and fair elections supervised by international observers, an independent judiciary, respect for human rights, and the release of political prisoners. Once a democratically elected government is confirmed, the President can begin lifting sanctions in a calibrated manner.
The bill imposes multiple layers of economic sanctions on Venezuela's current government and any nondemocratic successor, including prohibitions on debt instrument transactions, cryptocurrency issued by the regime, and blocking of government property in the United States. It also authorizes the President to sanction foreign countries and entities that provide military, security, or financial support to the Venezuelan government, and directs U.S. opposition to Venezuela's participation in international financial institutions and the Organization of American States until democracy is restored.
The legislation allocates at least $5 million in U.S. voluntary contributions to the Organization of American States for an emergency fund supporting human rights observers and election monitoring in Venezuela. It also directs the President to develop and implement a comprehensive assistance plan for Venezuela once a democratic government takes power, including humanitarian aid, development assistance, and trade support.
The bill requires regular reporting to Congress on specific licenses authorizing transactions with sanctioned persons, foreign entities doing business with the Venezuelan government, and progress toward democratization. Congress retains the ability to block the President's termination of sanctions through a joint resolution of disapproval.
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