IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1403 
Recognizing Edmundo Gonza´lez of Venezuela as the winner of the Venezuelan 
Election which took place on July 28th, 2024 and condemning the 
Maduro regime. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 2, 2024 
Mr. GIMENEZ (for himself, Mr. MOONEY, and Mr. OWENS) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing Edmundo Gonza´lez of Venezuela as the winner 
of the Venezuelan Election which took place on July 
28th, 2024 and condemning the Maduro regime. 
Whereas, since 2005, the United States has imposed targeted 
sanctions on individuals and entities of the Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela that have engaged in criminal, 
anti-democratic, unconstitutional, or corrupt acts and vio-
lated basic human rights; 
Whereas, since 2006, the Secretary of State has determined 
that Venezuela is not ‘‘cooperating fully with United 
States anti-terrorism efforts’’ as outlined in section 40A 
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2781); 
Whereas, since obtaining power in 2013, Nicola´s Maduro and 
his illegitimate regime have committed countless criminal, 
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•HRES 1403 IH 
anti-democratic, unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and 
violated basic human rights, including— 
(1) embezzling billions of dollars from the Ven-
ezuelan people, including through the illicit removal of 
gold from the Central Bank of Venezuela; 
(2) declaring approximately 12 percent of the coun-
try to be a part of an ‘‘Orinoco Mining Arc’’ and using 
his position to oversee the exploitation of vital resources 
for personal gain; and 
(3) establishing the Special Action Force of the Na-
tional Police (FAES) in 2017, which has since been re-
placed by the Directorate of Strategic and Tactical Ac-
tions, and utilizing them to execute illegal raids, unlawful 
arrests, and extrajudicial killings; 
Whereas, upon being elected President of the National As-
sembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaido´ invoked relevant arti-
cles of the Venezuelan constitution and became the In-
terim President of Venezuela; 
Whereas, on January 10, 2019, Nicola´s Maduro unlawfully 
usurped the presidency of Venezuela, and his rule was 
deemed illegitimate by many Venezuelans and more than 
50 countries, including most of the neighboring countries 
of Venezuela, the United States, and the majority of the 
European Union; 
Whereas, since unlawfully reassuming the presidency in 2019, 
Nicola´s Maduro has exacerbated ongoing economic and 
humanitarian crises, and forced more than 7,700,000 
people to flee Venezuela; 
Whereas Nicola´s Maduro has provided diplomatic support to, 
and engaged with, countries that have been designated as 
state sponsors of terrorism under United States law, in-
cluding by— 
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•HRES 1403 IH 
(1) allowing the Republic of Cuba to restructure the 
Venezuelan military, train Armed Forces in Venezuela, 
and train Venezuelan intelligence agents in Communist 
Cuba, 
(2) stating that Venezuela is ‘‘grateful to Cuba’s 
revolutionary Armed Forces’’ and ‘‘salute them and will 
always welcome them’’; 
(3) awarding a $490,000,000 contract to the state- 
owned National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution 
Company to revamp the Paraguana Refining Center, the 
largest refining complex in Venezuela; and 
(4) establishing a diplomatic mission and embassy in 
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (commonly 
known as ‘‘North Korea’’) and allowing North Korea to 
similarly establish a mission and embassy in Venezuela; 
Whereas, in response to the numerous criminal, anti-demo-
cratic, unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and basic 
human rights violations committed by Nicola´s Maduro 
and persons serving in his illegitimate regime, the United 
States has imposed a number of sanctions on him and his 
enablers, including— 
(1) on March 8, 2015, when President Barack 
Obama issued Executive Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note; relating to blocking property and suspending entry 
of certain persons contributing to the situation in Ven-
ezuela) to sanction persons engaged in public corruption 
activities and involved in human rights violations, the 
persecution of political opponents, the curtailment of 
press freedoms, and the arbitrary arrest and detention of 
anti-government protestors; 
(2) on August 24, 2017, when President Donald 
Trump issued Executive Order 13808 (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note; relating to imposing additional sanctions with re-
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•HRES 1403 IH 
spect to the situation in Venezuela), which prohibited the 
Government of Venezuela from accessing financial mar-
kets of the United States; 
(3) on March 19, 2018, when President Donald 
Trump issued Executive Order 13827 (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note; relating to taking additional steps to address the 
situation in Venezuela) to prohibit any transaction involv-
ing the issuance of any Venezuelan digital currency; 
(4) on May 21, 2018, when President Donald 
Trump issued Executive Order 13835 (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note; relating to prohibiting certain additional trans-
actions with respect to Venezuela) to prohibit trans-
actions related to purchasing Venezuelan debt; 
(5) on August 5, 2019, when President Donald 
Trump issued Executive Order 13884 (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note; relating to blocking property of the Government of 
Venezuela), freezing the assets of the Maduro govern-
ment in the United States and blocking the property, im-
posing visa restrictions, and permitting financial sanc-
tions on non-United States persons that assist the 
Maduro government; and 
(6) under section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department 
of State, Foreign Operations and Related Appropriations 
Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–6; 133 Stat. 317) and sec-
tion 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, Foreign 
Operations and Related Appropriations Act of 2020 
(Public Law 116–94; 133 Stat. 2864); 
Whereas, on October 17, 2023, the illegitimate Maduro re-
gime signed the Partial Agreement on the Promotion of 
Political Rights and Electoral Guarantees for All (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Barbados Agreement’’), which 
states that all parties, including the opposition party, 
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•HRES 1403 IH 
shall be allowed to freely select their candidates for the 
presidential election; 
Whereas the Biden Administration— 
(1) on October 18, 2023, in response to the signing 
of the Barbados Agreement, issued General License No. 
44 and suspended certain sanctions on Venezuela’s oil 
and gas sector; and 
(2) allowed General License No. 44 to expire on 
April 18, 2024, in response the illegitimate Maduro re-
gime preventing the democratic opposition from reg-
istering the candidate of their choice, harassing and in-
timidating political opponents, and unjustly detaining nu-
merous political actors and members of civil society; 
Whereas Marı´a Corina Machado— 
(1) was elected by the people of Venezuela on Octo-
ber 26, 2023, as the opposition candidate to run against 
the illegitimate Maduro regime in the July 28, 2024, 
presidential election in Venezuela; 
(2) was subsequently disqualified on January 26, 
2024, by the Supreme Justice Tribunal, the highest court 
of Venezuela, from running in the election and was not 
provided the opportunity to respond to the disqualifying 
allegations in court; and 
(3) endorsed Edmundo Gonza´lez Urrutia to run for 
President of Venezuela since her unwarranted disquali-
fication, stating on the campaign trail, ‘‘We are united 
and strong’’; 
Whereas, on December 20, 2023, the Maduro regime finally 
released 6 wrongfully detained United States citizens in 
Venezuela only after the Biden Administration agreed to 
release Alex Saab, who was charged in Federal court in 
October 2021, for laundering the proceeds of violations of 
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•HRES 1403 IH 
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (Public Law 
95–213; 91 Stat. 1494) in connection with a scheme to 
pay bribes to take advantage of the exchange rate con-
trolled by Venezuela; 
Whereas the Department of State has described Saab as ‘‘one 
of the two most important money men in the Maduro 
government’’ and ‘‘the middle man’’ between Maduro’s 
narco-terrorist regime and the Islamic Republic of Iran; 
Whereas prior to his arrest, Saab established the illegal 
‘‘Gold for Gas’’ scheme with Iran, allowing the country 
to avoid sanctions and be paid in Venezuelan gold in ex-
change for sham ‘‘humanitarian’’ deliveries of fuel to 
Venezuela; 
Whereas, on January 15, 2024, Maduro proved to the world 
that he operates a criminal enterprise disguised as a 
country when he named Alex Saab as the head of Ven-
ezuela’s International Investment Center; 
Whereas the illegitimate Maduro regime has exhibited a clear 
pattern of corruption, ruling by force, and undermining 
stability and democracy in Venezuela; 
Whereas in the hours following the presidential election, the 
National Electoral Council in Venezuela halted the 
Transmission of vote count data and prevented opposition 
poll watchers from viewing the voting data; and 
Whereas, on July 28, 2024, the people of Venezuela held 
their presidential election, which exit polls showed the 
overwhelming favorite and victor to be Edmundo 
Gonza´lez: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 1403 IH 
(1) congratulates the citizens of Venezuela for 
using their voice and vote to stand up to Nicola´s 
Maduro’s dictatorship; 
(2) denounces the attempt by the illegitimate 
Maduro regime to intimidate and repress the Ven-
ezuelan 
people, 
including 
Edmundo 
Gonza´lez 
Urrutia, Marı´a Corina Machado, and other opposi-
tion leaders, through any kind of violence; 
(3) applauds Secretary Anthony Blinken and 
Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols for their work 
with international partners to recognize Edmundo 
Gonza´lez as the rightful winner of the Venezuelan 
election on July 28, 2024; 
(4) encourages the Biden Administration im-
pose additional sanctions on Maduro and his co-
conspirators in their illegitimate attempt to commit 
electoral fraud and make a mockery of the presi-
dential election; and 
(5) recognizes Edmundo Gonza´lez as the winner 
of the Venezuelan Presidential election on July 28, 
2024. 
Æ 
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