Two U.S. senators on Wednesday will ask the Trump administration to investigate whether ZTE Corp., the Chinese telecommunications company, violated U.S. sanctions by helping Venezuela set up a database that monitors the behavior of its citizens.
In a letter, Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Marco Rubio will ask the U.S. secretaries of state, Treasury and commerce to determine whether ZTE worked with individuals cited by U.S. sanctions, used U.S. components unlawfully or helped Venezuela's government flout democratic processes or human rights.
The letter, following a Reuters investigation of the database and an associated Venezuelan identity card program published Nov. 14, will go to the Cabinet officials on Wednesday, according to aides to the two senators.