The Bolivar Law is cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen, Marco Rubio and Thom Tillis. Prohibits federal agencies from doing business with anyone who supports the government of Nicolás Maduro
On Friday, December 16, the United States Senate unanimously approved the Law for the Prohibition of Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Authoritarian Regime of Venezuela (Bolívar, for its acronym in English) of Senator Rick Scott.
“The regulations prohibit federal agencies from doing business with anyone who supports the oppressive regime of (Nicolás) Maduro,” reported the official website of the senator. Scott, who was one of the promoters of the Law in the chamber. The bill had been unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the US in March 2021.
“We all know what Nicolás Maduro is doing in Venezuela. He is starving his own citizens. He is jailing his political enemies. He is providing a foothold for Russia, Iran, Communist China and Hezbollah and is actively destabilizing our hemisphere. There is no reason the US government should work with companies that also work with such a disgusting dictator,” said Rick Scott.
The senator said he was proud that the Senate voted to hold Maduro accountable for his abuses by unanimously approving the Bolívar Law. “The passage of the Bolivar Act exemplifies the commitment of the American people to be tough on our enemies when they threaten the national security of the United States,” Scott added.
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Meanwhile, Congressman Michael Waltz assured that “the United States must be clear that the Maduro regime continues to be a destabilizing force for the Western Hemisphere that not only represses the Venezuelan people, while siding with Cuba, Russia and China, but also it has helped fuel the humanitarian crisis that has reached our own southern border.”
“We must treat them like the illegitimate authoritarian regime that they are and strip them of any funding mechanism that helps keep them in power through this bill. In the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, we bar companies that do business with the Maduro regime from contracting with the Department of Defense. It’s time we expanded that ban to the entire federal government,” Waltz said.
What does the Bolívar Law say?
• Prohibits federal agencies from awarding US government contracts to companies that do business with the Maduro regime.
• Provides for the necessary exceptions, including for the provision of humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and when the Office of Foreign Assets Control issues a valid license to do business in Venezuela.
• Allows the Secretary of State to remove the restriction when it is in the national interest of the United States.
With information from Infobae.
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