---
kind: "section"
citation: "22 U.S.C. § 9702"
title: "22"
title_heading: "Foreign Relations and Intercourse"
number: "9702"
heading: "Recognition of Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/22/9702"
units:
  - "Chapter 104 — Venezuela Assistance"
  - "Subchapter I — Support for the Interim President of Venezuela and Recognition of the Venezuelan National Assembly"
---

# §9702. Recognition of Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly

- (a) **Findings—** Congress finds that Venezuela’s unicameral National Assembly convened on January 6, 2016, following democratic elections that were held on December 6, 2015.
- (b) **Sense of Congress—** It is the sense of Congress that Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly is the only national level democratic institution remaining in the country.
- (c) **Policy—** It is the policy of the United States to recognize the democratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela as the only legitimate national legislative body in Venezuela.
- (d) **Assistance to Venezuela’s National Assembly—** The Secretary of State, in coordination with the [Administrator](/usc/22/277d–43.md?p=1) of the United States Agency for International Development, shall prioritize efforts to provide technical assistance to [support](/usc/22/7432.md?p=12) the democratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela in accordance with [section 9731 of this title](/usc/22/9731.md).

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title I, § 112, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3031.)