22 USC § 9701 - Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of Venezuela

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t22/s9701"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "22 USC § 9701 - Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of Venezuela"
title_number: 22
title_name: "FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE"
section_number: "9701"
section_name: "Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of Venezuela"
chapter_number: 104
chapter_name: "VENEZUELA ASSISTANCE"
subchapter_number: "I"
subchapter_name: "SUPPORT FOR THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA AND RECOGNITION OF THE VENEZUELAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title I, § 111, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3030.)"
---


# § 9701. Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of Venezuela

**(a)** **Findings** Congress makes the following findings:

**(1)** Venezuela’s electoral event on May 20, 2018 was characterized by widespread fraud and did not comply with international standards for a free, fair, and transparent electoral process.

**(2)** Given the fraudulent nature of Venezuela’s May 20, 2018 electoral event, Nicolás Maduro’s tenure as President of Venezuela ended on January 10, 2019.

**(3)** The National Assembly of Venezuela approved a resolution on January 15, 2019 that terminated Nicolás Maduro’s authority as the President of Venezuela.

**(4)** On January 23, 2019, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela was sworn in as the Interim President of Venezuela.

**(b)** **Sense of Congress** It is the sense of Congress—

**(1)** to support the decisions by the United States Government, more than 50 governments around the world, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Parliament to recognize National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as the Interim President of Venezuela;

**(2)** to encourage the Interim President of Venezuela to advance efforts to hold democratic presidential elections in the shortest possible period; and

**(3)** that the Organization of American States, with support from the United States Government and partner governments, should provide diplomatic, technical, and financial support for a new presidential election in Venezuela that complies with international standards for a free, fair, and transparent electoral process.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title I, § 111, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3030.)

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Short Title

> “This title [enacting this chapter and amending provisions set out as a note under
> 
> , War and National Defense] may be cited as the ‘Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development Act of 2019’ or the ‘VERDAD Act of 2019’.”

, , , provided that: