Letter to Congress
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), I hereby report that I have signed 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.
The Executive Order prohibits transactions related to provision of financing for, and other dealings in (i) new debt of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) with a maturity of greater than 90 days, (ii) new debt of the rest of the Government of Venezuela with a maturity of greater than 30 days, (iii) new equity of the Government of Venezuela (including PdVSA), (iv) bonds issued by the Government of Venezuela before the effective date of this Executive Order, and (v) dividend payments or other distributions of profit to the Government of Venezuela from any entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that government. The Executive Order also prohibits purchases of securities from the Government of Venezuela. The Secretary of the Treasury has authority to issue general licenses to mitigate hardship to the American and Venezuelan people and any negative unintended consequences that may result from this action.
I have authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including promulgating rules and regulations and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Executive Order.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
Donald J. Trump
Executive order
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015, and particularly in light of recent actions and policies of the Government of Venezuela, including serious abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms; responsibility for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Venezuela; establishment of an illegitimate Constituent Assembly, which has usurped the power of the democratically elected National Assembly and other branches of the Government of Venezuela; rampant public corruption; and ongoing repression and persecution of, and violence toward, the political opposition, hereby order as follows:
Section 1. (a) All transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in the following by a United States person or within the United States are prohibited: (i) new debt with a maturity of greater than 90 days of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA); (ii) new debt with a maturity of greater than 30 days, or new equity, of the Government of Venezuela, other than debt of PdVSA covered by subsection (a)(i) of this section; (iii) bonds issued by the Government of Venezuela prior to the effective date of this order; or (iv) dividend payments or other distributions of profits to the Government of Venezuela from any entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Government of Venezuela. (b) The purchase, directly or indirectly, by a United States person or within the United States, of securities from the Government of Venezuela, other than securities qualifying as new debt with a maturity of less than or equal to 90 or 30 days as covered by subsections (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section, respectively, is prohibited. (c) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the effective date of this order.
Section 2. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited. (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.