CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  The National Assembly, which is dominated by supporters of President Hugo Chávez, has passed a bill banning foreign financing for nongovernmental organizations and political parties, adding to a series of measures that critics say are intended to stifle dissent.

The law approved by the National Assembly late Tuesday puts in jeopardy human rights groups and other organizations that get money from abroad, critics say, in part because it authorizes fines of as much as double the amount received by political parties or civic organizations.

It is one of many contentious laws that Mr. Chávez’s government is pushing through in the final weeks of the current assembly, in which there are only a token number of opposition lawmakers. A new legislature with a much larger opposition bloc will take office Jan. 5.

Human Rights Watch condemned the new law preventing groups and parties from accepting international donations, saying that it not only blocks financing for human rights activists but also “severely limits their ability to foster public dialogue with foreign experts who are critical of Chávez’s policies.”