IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 328 
Condemning the anti-democratic actions of Venezuelan President Hugo Cha-
vez and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should 
strongly support the aspirations of the democratic forces in Venezuela. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 18, 2005 
Mr. MACK submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Condemning the anti-democratic actions of Venezuelan Presi-
dent Hugo Chavez and expressing the sense of Congress 
that the United States should strongly support the aspi-
rations of the democratic forces in Venezuela. 
Whereas President Hugo Chavez Frias was democratically 
elected President of Venezuela in 1998 and reelected in 
2000 under the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999; 
Whereas President Chavez came to power promising to ad-
dress the problems of corruption and poverty which 
plagued previous governments; 
Whereas President Chavez made sweeping changes to the po-
litical landscape in Venezuela, including the approval of 
a new constitution, which established a unicameral na-
•HCON 328 IH 
tional assembly and changed the name of the country to 
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 
Whereas the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, which was writ-
ten by a Constitutional Assembly called by President 
Chavez and approved by a national referendum, has al-
lowed President Chavez to increase his dominion over the 
democratic institutions of Venezuela; 
Whereas Venezuela signed the Inter-American Democratic 
Charter on September 11, 2001, committing the Ven-
ezuelan Government to guarantee ‘‘the essential elements 
of representative democracy . . . respect for human rights 
and fundamental freedoms, access to the exercise of 
power in accordance with the rule of law, the holding of 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on secret balloting 
and universal suffrage . . . the pluralistic system of polit-
ical parties and organizations, and the separation of pow-
ers and independence of branches of government’’; 
Whereas President Chavez’ victory in the August 2004 ref-
erendum, a constitutionally sanctioned consultative elec-
tion which he attempted to thwart at every turn, enabled 
him to virtually rid the political landscape of any official 
opposition, thereby eliminating any political space in that 
country; 
Whereas President Chavez has stacked the supreme court 
and lower courts with loyalist judges, severely crippling 
the independence of the judiciary; 
Whereas President Chavez has decreed that all private prop-
erty deemed ‘‘not in productive use’’ will be confiscated 
by the government and redistributed to third parties; 
Whereas President Chavez instituted a media responsibility 
law which places arbitrary restrictions on broadcast
•HCON 328 IH 
media coverage, imposing severe penalties for alleged vio-
lations, and used other legal instruments to intimidate 
independent media outlets which criticize his government; 
Whereas changes to Venezuela’s penal code threaten freedom 
of association and freedom of expression, increasing 
criminal penalties for alleged ‘‘contempt’’ or ‘‘disrespect’’ 
of public officials; 
Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
(IAHCR) in a 2004 report expressed concerns that ‘‘the 
Chavez Government’s tendency to militarize public ad-
ministration and allow the military’s excessive involve-
ment in political decision making’’ should be of grave 
concern; 
Whereas President Chavez has used the legal system to per-
secute opponents, violating citizens’ civil and political 
rights; 
Whereas President Chavez is using the Venezuelan court sys-
tem to prosecute and jail for up to 16 years four officers 
of the pro-democracy organization Sumate (Join up) for 
voter education activities, and helping to collect signa-
tures for the constitutionally-sanctioned presidential re-
call referendum; 
Whereas President Chavez through the recent congressional 
election now has full control over every institution of the 
Venezuelan Government, effectively silencing any opposi-
tion and eliminating any political space; 
Whereas President Chavez undermines traditional labor 
unions in Venezuela by creating parallel, competing, gov-
ernment-affiliated unions within the same company, 
which violates current International Labor Organization 
(ILO) standards;
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Whereas Venezuela is a member of the ILO and the ILO has 
been informed of Venezuela’s violations; 
Whereas President Chavez and his supporters have stated 
their intention to use their full control of the national as-
sembly to change the constitution to allow him to remain 
in power until 2030, well beyond current constitutional 
limits; 
Whereas President Chavez is supporting radical forces in Co-
lombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador, and leftist parties in other 
nations in the region in an effort to destabilize the al-
ready fragile democratic governments; 
Whereas President Chavez has purchased 100,000 Russian 
AK–103 assault rifles and plans to procure the tech-
nology to produce additional rifles and ammunition, has 
signed an agreement with Spain to purchase Spanish- 
built warships, and has initiated discussions to buy Bra-
zilian fighter aircraft; 
Whereas President Chavez has developed a close relationship 
with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro who is providing Presi-
dent Chavez with advice, medical teams, sports coaches, 
and assistance with his intelligence and security services; 
Whereas President Chavez has also associated himself with 
other dictators including Muammar Qadafi , Kim Jong Il 
of North Korea, and the totalitarian regimes in Iran and 
the People’s Republic of China; 
Whereas President Chavez was also the only head of state to 
visit Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War and while 
United Nations sanctions were imposed; 
Whereas President Chavez has challenged the democratic 
principle of freedom of religious expression by ordering
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American missionaries working with indigenous people to 
leave Venezuela by the end of 2005; and 
Whereas President Chavez recently refused entry of a senior 
United States congressional delegation that was to meet 
with President Chavez to try to ease tensions between the 
United States and Venezuela: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That— 
(1) Congress— 
(A) strongly condemns the actions taken 
by President Hugo Chavez Frias to increase his 
control over the democratic institutions in Ven-
ezuela and eliminate opposition to his rule as 
detrimental to democracy in the Bolivarian Re-
public of Venezuela, the future of democracy in 
Venezuela, and the stability of the entire region; 
(B) strongly condemns the actions taken 
by President Chavez to support radical forces in 
Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia in an effort to 
destabilize those nations; 
(C) is alarmed by Venezuela’s purchase of 
100,000 Russian AK–103 assault rifles and its 
plans to procure the technology to produce ad-
ditional Russian rifles and ammunition on its 
own, its purchase of Spanish-built warships and 
planned purchase of Brazilian fighter aircraft,
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and its efforts to acquire Russian helicopters 
and fighter jet aircraft, which could start an 
arms race in the Andes; 
(D) calls for an end to the continued 
verbal assaults on the United States and the 
politically-motivated attempts to prevent honest 
dialogue between the United States and Ven-
ezuela meant to help ease tensions between the 
two countries; and 
(E) supports the efforts of the Venezuelan 
democratic civil society to create the necessary 
conditions for political space for the opposition 
to include a free and fair election process and 
open and honest dialogue within Venezuela and 
the international community; and 
(2) it is the sense of Congress that— 
(A) it should be the policy of the United 
States to actively support the aspirations of the 
democratic forces in Venezuela; 
(B) it should be the policy of the United 
States to work with the international commu-
nity, including the Organization of American 
States, to assist democratic forces in Venezuela; 
(C) it should be the policy of the United 
States to work through the Organization of
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American States and other regional and inter-
national organizations to encourage political ele-
ments within Venezuela to preserve, protect, 
and defend democracy against those forces 
which intend to undermine the tenets, institu-
tions, and processes of a true democracy; 
(D) it is critical that the 2006 elections in 
Venezuela be free, fair, and transparent; and 
(E) the Government of the United States 
should help to protect political space in Ven-
ezuela and to support independent organiza-
tions by providing assistance and material sup-
port to Venezuelan nongovernmental organiza-
tions through the United States Agency for 
International Development and to political par-
ties through the National Endowment for De-
mocracy and its subordinate organizations, en-
suring that the assistance goes for party 
strengthening and should be open to all legiti-
mate Venezuelan political forces. 
Æ