III 

Calendar No. 708 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 537 

Expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, social 

and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of political 

prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and democratic processes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2016 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

NELSON, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KIRK, Mr. GARDNER, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. 

BLUNT, and Mr. PERDUE) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble and an amendment to the title 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of political prisoners, and calling for 

respect of constitutional and democratic processes. 

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 huVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR537.RS SR537

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manitarian 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 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; 

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 


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•SRES 537 RS 

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 Treasury and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration; 

Whereas domestic and international human rights groups recognize more than 85 political prisoners in Venezuela, including 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 Democr ́atica) 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; 

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

Court of Venezuela and confirmed magistrates politically 

aligned with the Maduro Administration and, thereafter, 

the expanded Supreme Court has blocked 4 legislators, 

including 3 opposition legislators, from taking office; 

Whereas, during the first 6 months of the new legislature, 

the Supreme Court has repeatedly issued politically motivated judgments to overturn legislation passed by the 

democratically elected National Assembly and block internal legislative procedures; 


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•SRES 537 RS 

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, 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’’; 

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 

Whereas the deterioration of basic governance and the economic 

crisis in Venezuela have led to an unprecedented humanitarian situation in which people are suffering from severe 

shortages of essential medicines and basic food products; 


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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 civil society organizations to bring humanitarian aid into the country; 

Whereas the International Monetary Fund assesses that, in 

Venezuela, gross domestic product will contract 10 percent 

and inflation will exceed 700 percent in 2016, accelerating 

to over 1,600 percent in 2017, the worst anticipated 

growth and inflation performance in the world; 

Whereas Venezuela’s political, economic, and humanitarian 

crisis is fueling social tensions that are resulting in growing incidents of public unrest, looting, violence among citizens, and an exodus of Venezuelans abroad; 

Whereas 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; 

Whereas, on August 1, 2016, General Nestor Reverol, Venezuela’s current Minister of Interior and former National 

Guard commander, was indicted in the United States for 

participating in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy; 


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Whereas, on November 18, 2016, Franqui Francisco Flores de 

Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of 

President Maduro and Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores, 

were convicted by a United States Federal jury on charges 

of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States; 

Whereas international and domestic human rights groups, such 

as Venezuelan organization Foro Penal, recognize more 

than 108 political prisoners in Venezuela, including 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 the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of 

Venezuela serves as the foundation for political processes in 

Venezuela; 

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; 

Whereas, in late December 2015, the outgoing National Assembly confirmed to the Supreme Court of Venezuela magistrates politically aligned with the Maduro Administration and, thereafter, the Supreme Court blocked four legislators, including 3 opposition legislators, from taking office; 

Whereas, during the first year of the new legislature, the Supreme Court has repeatedly overturned legislation passed 

by the democratically elected National Assembly; 

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, 


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•SRES 537 RS 

have severely undermined the principles of separation of 

powers in Venezuela; 

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’’; 

Whereas, in late October 2016, Venezuela’s state courts and National Electoral Council, which are comprised of political 

allies of President Maduro, halted efforts to hold a referendum pursuant to provisions of the Venezuelan constitution to recall President Maduro, thereby denying the 

Venezuelan people the ability to pursue a democratic solution to Venezuela’s crisis; and 

Whereas, in November 2016, sectors of the opposition and the 

Government of Venezuela initiated a dialogue, facilitated 

by the Vatican, in an effort to pursue a negotiated solution 

to the country’s political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its profound concern about wide3 spread shortages of essential medicines and basic 

4 food products faced by the people of Venezuela, and 

5 urges President Maduro to permit the delivery of 

6 humanitarian assistance; 

7 (2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to im8 mediately release all political prisoners, to provide 

9 protections for freedom of expression and assembly, 


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1 and to respect internationally recognized human 

2 rights; 

3 (3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dia4 logue that leads to respect for Venezuela’s constitu5 tional mechanisms and resolves the country’s polit6 ical, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis; 

7 (4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary Gen8 eral Almagro’s invocation of Article 20 of the Inter9 American Democratic Charter and urges the OAS 

10 Permanent Council, which represents all of the orga11 nization’s member states, to undertake a collective 

12 assessment of the constitutional and democratic 

13 order in Venezuela; 

14 (5) expresses its great concern over the Ven15 ezuelan executive’s lack of respect for the principle 

16 of separation of powers, its overreliance on emer17 gency decree powers, and its subjugation of judicial 

18 independence; 

19 (6) calls on the Government of Venezuela and 

20 security forces to respect the Constitution of Ven21 ezuela, including constitutional provisions that pro22 vide Venezuelan citizens with the right to peacefully 

23 pursue a fair and timely recall referendum for their 

24 president this year if they so choose; 


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1 (7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the 

2 rule of law and increasing efforts to combat impu3 nity and public corruption in Venezuela, which has 

4 bankrupted a resource-rich country, fuels rising so5 cial tensions, and contributes to elevated levels of 

6 crime and violence; and 

7 (8) urges the President of the United States to 

8 provide full support for OAS efforts in favor of con9 stitutional and democratic solutions to the political 

10 impasse, and to instruct appropriate Federal agen11 cies to hold officials of the Government of Venezuela 

12 accountable for violations of United States law and 

13 abuses of internationally recognized human rights. 

14 That the Senate— 

15 (1) expresses its profound concern about wide16 spread shortages of essential medicines and basic food 

17 products faced by the people of Venezuela, and urges 

18 President Maduro to permit the delivery of humani19 tarian assistance; 

20 (2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to im21 mediately release all political prisoners and to respect 

22 internationally recognized human rights; 

23 (3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dia24 logue that leads to respect for Venezuela’s constituVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\SR537.RS SR537

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1 tional mechanisms and resolves the country’s polit2 ical, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis; 

3 (4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary Gen4 eral Almagro’s invocation of Article 20 of the Inter5 American Democratic Charter and urges the OAS 

6 Permanent Council, which represents all of the orga7 nization’s member states, to undertake a collective as8 sessment of the constitutional and democratic order in 

9 Venezuela; 

10 (5) calls on the Government of Venezuela to en11 sure the neutrality and professionalism of all security 

12 forces and to respect the Venezuelan people’s rights to 

13 freedom of expression and assembly; 

14 (6) calls on the Government of Venezuela to halt 

15 its efforts to undermine the principle of separation of 

16 powers, its circumvention of the democratically elect17 ed legislature, and its subjugation of judicial inde18 pendence; 

19 (7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule 

20 of law and increasing efforts to combat impunity and 

21 public corruption in Venezuela, which has bankrupted 

22 a resource-rich country, fuels rising social tensions, 

23 and contributes to elevated levels of crime and vio24 lence; and 


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1 (8) urges the President of the United States to 

2 provide full support for OAS efforts in favor of con3 stitutional and democratic solutions to the political 

4 impasse, and to instruct appropriate Federal agencies 

5 to hold officials of the Government of Venezuela ac6 countable for violations of United States law and 

7 abuses of internationally recognized human rights. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A resolution expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of political prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and democratic processes, including free and fair elections.’’. 


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Calendar No. 708 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 537 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing profound concern about the ongoing poand democratic processes. oners, and calling for respect of constitutional in Venezuela, urging the release of political pris- litical, economic, social and humanitarian crisis 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble and an amendment to the title 


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