H. Res. 851 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 27, 2016. 

Whereas the deterioration of basic governance and the economic crisis in Venezuela have reached deeply troubling 

levels, which in turn have led to an unprecedented humanitarian situation in Venezuela where millions of people are suffering from severe shortages of essential medicines and basic food products; 

Whereas Venezuela lacks more than 80 percent of the basic 

medical supplies and equipment needed to treat its population, including medicine to treat chronic illnesses and 

cancer as well as basic antibiotics, and 85 percent of 

pharmacies are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the 

Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation; 

Whereas, despite the massive shortages of basic foodstuffs 

and essential medicines, President of Venezuela Nicolas 

Maduro has rejected repeated requests from the majority 

of members of the National Assembly and civil society organizations to bring humanitarian aid into the country; 

Whereas the International Monetary Fund assesses that, in 

Venezuela, inflation reached 275 percent and the gross 

domestic product contracted 5.7 percent in 2015, and 

further projects that inflation will reach 720 percent and 

the gross domestic product will contract an additional 8 

percent in 2016; 
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Whereas Venezuela’s political, economic, and humanitarian 

crisis is fueling social tensions that are resulting in growing incidents of public unrest, looting, and violence 

among citizens; 

Whereas these social distortions are taking place amidst an 

alarming climate of violence as Caracas continues to have 

the highest per capita homicide rate in the world at 120 

per 100,000 citizens, according to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime; 

Whereas the deterioration of governance in Venezuela has 

been exacerbated by widespread public corruption and the 

involvement of public officials in illicit narcotics trafficking and related money laundering, which has led to 

indictments by the United States Department of Justice 

and ongoing investigations by the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration; 

Whereas domestic and international human rights groups recognize more than 85 political prisoners in Venezuela, including United States citizens Francisco Ma ́rquez and 

Josh Holt, opposition leader and former Chacao mayor 

Leopoldo Lopez, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Caracas 

Mayor Antonio Ledezma, former Zulia governor Manuel 

Rosales, and former San Cristobal mayor Daniel 

Ceballos; 

Whereas, in December 2015, the people of Venezuela elected 

the opposition coalition (Mesa de Unidad Democra ́tica) to 

a two-thirds majority in the unicameral National Assembly, with 112 out of the 167 seats compared with 55 

seats for the government’s Partido Socialista Unido de 

Venezuela party; 
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Whereas, in late December 2015, the outgoing National Assembly increased the number of seats in the Supreme 

Court of Venezuela and confirmed magistrates with the 

Maduro Administration and, thereafter, the expanded Supreme Court has blocked four legislators, including 3 opposition legislators, from taking office; 

Whereas the Supreme Court has repeatedly issued politically 

motivated judgments to overturn legislation passed by the 

democratically elected National Assembly and block internal legislative procedures; 

Whereas, in 2016, President Maduro has utilized emergency 

and legislative decree powers to bypass the National Assembly, which, alongside the actions of the Supreme 

Court, have severely undermined the principles of separation of powers in Venezuela; 

Whereas democracy is failing in Venezuela, the Maduro government controls the presidency, a majority of the municipalities, the Supreme Court, the military leadership, 

the state-owned oil company (PDVSA) leadership, and 

most of the media; 

Whereas the former Presidents of Spain, Panama, and the 

Dominican Republic have pursued dialogue between 

President Maduro and the National Assembly; 

Whereas, in May 2016, Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro presented a 132-page report 

outlining grave alterations of the democratic order in 

Venezuela and invoked Article 20 of the Inter-American 

Democratic Charter, which calls on the OAS Permanent 

Council ‘‘to undertake a collective assessment of the situation’’; 
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Whereas the countries of Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, 

Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, and Uruguay called on the Venezuelan Government in June 2016 

to ‘‘guarantee the exercise of the constitutional rights of 

the Venezuelan people and that the remaining steps for 

the realization of the Presidential Recall Referendum be 

pursued clearly, concretely and without delay’’; 

Whereas, in June 2016, at a joint press conference with 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and President 

Enrique Pen ̃a Nieto of Mexico, President Barack Obama 

stated, ‘‘Given the very serious situation in Venezuela 

and the worsening plight of the Venezuelan people, together we’re calling on the government and opposition to 

engage in meaningful dialogue and urge the Venezuelan 

government to respect the rule of law and the authority 

of the National Assembly.’’; and 

Whereas, at the joint press conference with Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau and President Pen ̃a Nieto, President 

Barack Obama continued, ‘‘Political prisoners should be 

released. The democratic process should be respected and 

that includes legitimate efforts to pursue a recall referendum consistent with Venezuelan law.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) expresses its profound concern about widespread 

shortages of essential medicines and basic food products 

faced by the people of Venezuela, and urges President 

Maduro to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance; 
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(2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to immediately release all political prisoners, including United 

States citizens, to provide protections for freedom of expression and assembly, and to respect internationally 

recognized human rights; 

(3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dialogue 

that leads to respect for Venezuela’s constitutional mechanisms and resolves the country’s political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis; 

(4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary General 

Almagro’s invocation of Article 20 of the Inter-American 

Democratic Charter and urges the OAS Permanent 

Council, which represents all of the organization’s member states, to undertake a collective assessment of the 

constitutional and democratic order in Venezuela; 

(5) expresses its great concern over the Venezuelan 

executive’s lack of respect for the principle of separation 

of powers, its overreliance on emergency decree powers, 

and its threat to judicial independence; 

(6) calls on the Government of Venezuela and security forces to respect the Constitution of Venezuela, including constitutional provisions that provide Venezuelan 

citizens with the right to peacefully pursue a fair and 

timely recall referendum for their President this year; 
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(7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule of 

law and increasing efforts to combat impunity and public 

corruption in Venezuela, which has bankrupted a resource-rich country, fuels rising social tensions, and contributes to elevated levels of crime and violence; 

(8) urges the President of the United States to provide full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and democratic solutions to the political impasse, 

and to instruct appropriate Federal agencies to hold officials of the Government of Venezuela accountable for 

violations of United States law and abuses of internationally recognized human rights; and 

(9) urges the President to continue to stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people by urging the Maduro 

government to— 

(A) hold a fair and free recall referendum by 

the end of this calendar year; 

(B) release all political prisoners, including 

United States citizens, from prison; 

(C) adhere to democratic principles; and 
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(D) permit the delivery of emergency food and 

medicine. 

Attest: 

Clerk.