IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 872 

Calling for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to be designated a state 

sponsor of terrorism for its support of Iran, Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 27, 2009 

Mr. MACK (for himself and Mr. KLEIN of Florida) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its support of 

Iran, Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces 

of Columbia (FARC). 

Whereas state sponsors of terrorism provide critical support 

to non-state terrorist groups; 

Whereas section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 

1979, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and 

section 640A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 stipulate that a designated state sponsor of terrorism is one 

‘‘that repeatedly provides support to acts of international 

terrorism’’; 

Whereas the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has repeatedly 

provided support for acts of international terrorism, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:50 Oct 28, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR872.IH HR872

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•HRES 872 IH 

cluding support for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 

Colombia (FARC) and Hezbollah and has also closely 

aligned itself with Iran, a designated state sponsor of terrorism; 

Whereas Venezuela has become Iran’s closest ally in the 

Western Hemisphere; 

Whereas Iran has been designated by the United States Government as a state sponsor of terrorism and according to 

the 2008 State Department’s Country Report on Terrorism ‘‘has remained the most active state sponsor of 

terrorism’’; 

Whereas the 2008 Report states that the Government of Iran 

continues to pursue an expansion of its military ties into 

the Western Hemisphere and parts of Africa, including 

through its IRGC–Qods Force; 

Whereas Venezuela has concluded more than 200 bilateral 

agreements with Iran on military cooperation, the sharing of intelligence, establishing direct civilian airline 

flights between Caracas and Tehran, expanding financial 

cooperation, and initiating cultural exchanges, among 

others; 

Whereas Venezuela reportedly has large deposits of uranium 

ore in the Guiana Shield region; 

Whereas in September 2009, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez 

announced that Venezuela intends to develop nuclear 

technology with the assistance of Iran; 

Whereas during a trip to Iran in September 2009, Chavez 

said that both Tehran and Caracas are ‘‘facing the same 

enemy, which is the U.S. Empire and its lackeys. And we 

will defeat the empire and its lackeys’’; 


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•HRES 872 IH 

Whereas in a March 2009 congressional testimony, Admiral 

James G. Stavridis, then commander of the United 

States Southern Command, asserted that the main concern about Iran’s increased activity in Latin America is 

its links to Hezbollah; 

Whereas in a January 2009 congressional testimony, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates maintained that he was 

concerned about the level of ‘‘subversive activity that the 

Iranians are carrying on in a number of places in Latin 

America, particularly South America and Central America’’; 

Whereas the State Department’s 2008 Country Report on 

Terrorism has stated that Hezbollah closely follows the 

religious guidance of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali 

Khamenei; 

Whereas Hezbollah was designated as a Foreign Terrorist 

Organization on October 8, 1997, and is closely allied 

with Iran and often acts at its behest; 

Whereas prior to September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for more deaths of United States citizens than any 

other terrorist group; 

Whereas Hezbollah has already attacked Western Hemisphere targets, exemplified by the attacks on the Israeli 

Embassy in Argentina in 1992 and the Argentine-Israeli 

Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994; 

Whereas the 2008 State Department’s Country Report on 

Terrorism states that the FARC was designated as a 

Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997; 

Whereas the Report continues that ‘‘[t]he Revolutionary 

Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is Latin America’s 


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•HRES 872 IH 

oldest, largest, most capable, and best-equipped insurgency’’; 

Whereas the Report states that the U.S. Department of the 

Treasury has designated a Venezuelan diplomat as a 

Hezbollah supporter and two senior Venezuelan Government officials and the former Justice and Interior Minister for materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of the FARC; 

Whereas, for more than 40 years, the FARC has carried out 

bombings, mortar attacks, kidnappings, extortion, guerrilla warfare, and drug trafficking targeting Colombian 

and United States political, military, and economic interests as well as foreign citizens; 

Whereas in July 2009, the Colombian military conducted a 

raid on a FARC training camp and recovered Swedishmade anti-tank rocket launchers sold to Venezuela in the 

1980s; 

Whereas seized documents from a Colombia-led raid against 

the FARC on March 1, 2008, suggest evidence of 

$300,000,000 in payments to the FARC from the Venezuelan Government, and efforts by the FARC to obtain 

50 kilograms of uranium; 

Whereas in January 2008, Chavez praised the FARC as ‘‘a 

real army’’ and ‘‘an insurgent force with a political 

project’’, and called upon foreign governments to cease 

referring to the FARC as a terrorist organization; 

Whereas in May 2009, the Secretary of State renewed an 

arms embargo against Venezuela for all United States 

commercial arms sales and re-transfers to Venezuela; 

Whereas the 2008 Country Report noted that Venezuelan 

citizenship, identity, and travel documents remained easy 


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•HRES 872 IH 

to obtain, making the country a potentially attractive 

way-station for terrorists; 

Whereas the Department of Homeland Security is required to 

assess security at foreign airports with direct service to 

the United States to determine compliance with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); 

Whereas the United States Transportation Security Administration says it ‘‘has been unable to assess security measures at international airports in Venezuela that serve as 

the last point of departure for nonstop flights to the 

United States’’; 

Whereas the activities of supporters and financiers of terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere constitute a severe threat to the United States and its allies 

and interests; and 

Whereas many countries in the Western Hemisphere make 

serious prevention and preparedness efforts, including cooperation with the United States, to address the mutual 

threat that terrorism poses to the region: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of the Bolivarian 

3 Republic of Venezuela for its state-sponsored sup4 port of international terrorist groups; 

5 (2) calls on the Secretary of State to designate 

6 Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism; and 


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1 (3) urges increased and sustained cooperation 

2 on counter-terrorism initiatives between the govern3 ment of the United States and allies in the region. 

Æ 


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