III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 44 

Denouncing the Maduro regime’s fraudulent legislative elections, the absence 

of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent electoral 

processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan democracy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2021 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCOTT

of Florida, and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Denouncing the Maduro regime’s fraudulent legislative elections, the absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, 

fair, and transparent electoral processes in Venezuela, 

and the further erosion of Venezuelan democracy. 

Whereas, on December 6, 2020, the regime of Nicola ́s 

Maduro held fraudulent legislative elections for Venezuela’s National Assembly that did not comply with 

international standards for free, fair, and transparent 

electoral processes; 

Whereas the Maduro regime sought to use fraudulent legislative elections to install a new National Assembly on January 5, 2021, in an effort to undermine Venezuela’s National Assembly, which was democratically elected in 

2015; 


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•SRES 44 IS 

Whereas, pursuant to section 112 of the VERDAD Act of 

2019 (22 U.S.C. 9702), it is the policy of the United 

States to recognize the democratically elected National 

Assembly of Venezuela, elected in December 2015 and 

sworn in on January 2016, as the only legitimate national legislative body in Venezuela; 

Whereas the United States and more than 50 countries—including Canada, the 27 member countries of the European Union, and 21 members of the Organization of 

American States, among others—have expressed concern 

about the lack of legitimacy of the December 6, 2020, 

electoral process held in Venezuela and the Maduro regime’s failure to meet international standards for a free, 

fair, and transparent election; 

Whereas, on January 6, 2021, the European Union issued a 

public statement on the Maduro regime’s December 6, 

2020, legislative elections, stating that ‘‘the elections 

failed to comply with international standards’’ and that 

it does not recognize the electoral process as ‘‘credible, 

inclusive or transparent, nor . . . its outcome to be considered as representative of the democratic will of the 

Venezuelan people’’; 

Whereas, on January 5, 2021, members of the Lima Group— 

including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 

Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, 

Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela—issued a joint declaration stating that the Lima Group does not ‘‘recognize the 

legitimacy or legality of the National Assembly installed 

on January 5, 2021. This illegitimate National Assembly 

is the product of the fraudulent elections of December 6, 

2020, organized by the illegitimate regime of Nicola ́s 

Maduro.’’; 


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•SRES 44 IS 

Whereas, on December 8, 2020, the International Contact 

Group—including Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, 

Ecuador, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, 

the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the 

United Kingdom and Uruguay—issued a public declaration stating that the Maduro regime’s December 6, 2020, 

elections did not meet internationally accepted standards, 

‘‘[n]or did they meet conditions required by Venezuelan 

laws,’’ and that ‘‘they cannot recognise the results of this 

electoral process as legitimate or representative of the 

will of the Venezuelan people’’; 

Whereas, on June 12, 2020, the Maduro regime’s illegitimate 

Supreme Court unilaterally appointed new members to 

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council without the approval of the democratically elected National Assembly; 

Whereas, throughout 2020, the Maduro regime— 

(1) sought to co-opt and undermine independent political parties through a campaign of systematic persecution; and 

(2) used its discredited Supreme Court to strip independent political parties of their leadership, including 

Voluntad Popular, Primero Justicia, and Accio ́n 

Democra ́tica; 

Whereas the Maduro regime has a demonstrated track record 

of holding fraudulent elections over the last four years; 

Whereas, in May 2018, the Maduro regime held fraudulent 

presidential elections that were broadly criticized as illegitimate, leading more than 50 countries to recognize the 

end of Nicola ́s Maduro’s term in office and the inauguration of National Assembly President Juan Guaido ́ as Interim-President of Venezuela on January 23, 2019; 


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•SRES 44 IS 

Whereas, on July 30, 2017, the Maduro regime manipulated 

the results for Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly by more 

than 1,000,000 votes, according to Smartmatic, the company that supplied Venezuela’s electronic voting machines; 

Whereas, according to the Venezuelan constitution, Juan 

Guaido ́, as President of the National Assembly, serves as 

Venezuela’s Interim President in the absence of a democratically elected president of Venezuela; 

Whereas the conditions do not currently exist for the free, 

fair, and transparent election of new members of the National Assembly or the president of Venezuela; 

Whereas, as of September 7, 2020, the internationally recognized nongovernmental organization Foro Penal confirmed that, out of the 110 individuals recently released 

from prison by the Maduro regime to serve out the remainder of their sentences under house arrest, 53 were 

political prisoners, and that currently 363 political prisoners remain unjustly detained by the Maduro regime 

without due process; 

Whereas, on September 16, 2020, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the 

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela found that Nicola ́s 

Maduro and senior members of his regime ordered and 

carried out a campaign of extrajudicial executions, forced 

disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions that 

amounted to systemic crimes against humanity; 

Whereas the Maduro regime’s efforts to hold fraudulent legislative elections, undermine the democratically elected National Assembly and independent political parties, and 

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•SRES 44 IS 

pression further erodes democracy and the rule of law in 

Venezuela; and 

Whereas, as codified under section 4 of the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act (Public 

Law 113–278; 128 U.S.C. 3013), it is the policy of the 

United States ‘‘to support the people of Venezuela in 

their aspiration to live under conditions of peace and representative democracy as defined by the Inter-American 

Democratic Charter of the Organization of American 

States’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) denounces the Maduro regime’s fraudulent 

3 legislative elections on December 6, 2020, as an ef4 fort to undermine Venezuela’s democratically elected 

5 National Assembly; 

6 (2) does not recognize the legitimacy of the Na7 tional Assembly installed by the Maduro regime on 

8 January 6, 2021; 

9 (3) joins members of the international commu10 nity, including members of the Lima Group, the Or11 ganization of American States, and the European 

12 Union, in rightfully rejecting the Maduro’s regime’s 

13 fraudulent and illegitimate legislative elections on 

14 December 6, 2020; 

15 (4) urges that presidential and legislative elec16 tions in Venezuela be conducted at the earliest pos17 sible date that conditions for international standards 


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•SRES 44 IS 

1 for free, fair, and transparent electoral processes, in2 cluding credible international election observation, 

3 can be met; 

4 (5) calls on the Maduro regime to cease its 

5 campaign of systematic persecution against Ven6 ezuela’s independent political parties and their lead7 ership; 

8 (6) calls on the Maduro regime to immediately 

9 release all political prisoners, facilitate access by hu10 manitarian organizations, and end its campaign of 

11 extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, tor12 ture, and arbitrary detentions of political opponents, 

13 human rights defenders, civil society activists, peace14 ful protesters, and citizens; and 

15 (7) takes note of the finding of the United Na16 tions Independent International Fact-Finding Mis17 sion on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that 

18 the Maduro regime’s campaign of state-sponsored vi19 olence and repression against the people of Ven20 ezuela amounted to crimes against humanity, and 

21 calls for Nicola ́s Maduro and senior members of his 

22 regime to be held accountable for their actions. 

Æ 


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