Title: Condemning the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the regional humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirming support for the legitimate National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and urging further regional action in support of democracy in Venezuela.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Condemns the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the regional humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirms support for the legitimate National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and urges further regional action in support of democracy in Venezuela.
Calls on the President to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela, impose targeted sanctions on Venezuelan officials, increase public diplomacy efforts to expose corruption among Venezuelan officials, and support democratic actors in Venezuela.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1006 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1006

 Condemning the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the regional 
humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirming support for the legitimate 
 National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and urging further regional 
              action in support of democracy in Venezuela.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 2018

  Mr. Cook (for himself, Mr. Sires, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Engel) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the regional 
humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirming support for the legitimate 
 National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and urging further regional 
              action in support of democracy in Venezuela.

Whereas the government of Nicolas Maduro and the United Socialist Party of 
        Venezuela have systematically dismantled and destroyed democracy in 
        Venezuela;
Whereas the government of Nicolas Maduro and the United Socialist Party of 
        Venezuela are responsible for creating a humanitarian, economic, social, 
        and political crisis in Venezuela that is unprecedented in the country's 
        history;
Whereas Nicolas Maduro has consistently refused to acknowledge Venezuela's 
        humanitarian crisis and has rejected humanitarian aid from the United 
        States and the international community;
Whereas the government of Nicolas Maduro and the United Socialist Party of 
        Venezuela have used food and humanitarian aid as a weapon for social 
        control and have stolen funds from Local Food Production and Provision 
        Committees, the Venezuelan distribution food aid program, according to a 
        joint statement issued by Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and the United 
        States on July 12, 2018;
Whereas Venezuela's inflation rate has reached nearly 14,000 percent and is 
        predicted to continue increasing, according to reports issued by the 
        opposition-led National Assembly;
Whereas it is estimated that the Venezuelan Government owes about--

    (1) $64,000,000,000 to bondholders;

    (2) a total of $20,000,000,000 to China and Russia;

    (3) $5,000,000,000 to multilateral lenders; and

    (4) according to press reports, tens of billions to importers and 
service companies in the oil industry;

Whereas the capital city of Caracas has a per-capita homicide rate of 104 per 
        100,000 citizens, among the highest in the world, according to the 
        Venezuelan Observatory of Violence;
Whereas, on June 20, 2018, the Pan-American Health Organization issued a report 
        finding increases in new cases of malaria, measles, diphtheria, HIV/
        AIDS, and tuberculosis in Venezuela;
Whereas, on June 22, 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
        issued a report stating that ``human rights violations committed during 
        demonstrations form part of a wider pattern of repression against 
        political dissidents and anyone perceived as posing a threat'' to the 
        government of Nicolas Maduro and referred the report to the 
        International Criminal Court;
Whereas according to the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal, there are at 
        least 254 political prisoners being held in Venezuela as of July 2018;
Whereas according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the 
        deterioration of conditions in Venezuela has led to the emigration of at 
        least 2,000,000 Venezuelans to neighboring countries, including Brazil, 
        Chile, Caribbean island countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru;
Whereas the United States has provided at least $56,000,000 since fiscal year 
        2017 to countries in the Western Hemisphere, in response to the 
        Venezuelan humanitarian crisis;
Whereas the United States has imposed sanctions on--

    (1) 59 Venezuelan officials, for human rights violations and 
corruption; and

    (2) 22 individuals with connections to Venezuela and 27 Venezuelan 
entities, for drug trafficking;

Whereas Canada has sanctioned at least 70 Venezuelan officials for corruption or 
        human rights abuses;
Whereas the European Union has sanctioned at least 18 Venezuelan officials for 
        human rights violations and undermining democracy, including Vice 
        President Delcy Rodriguez;
Whereas Switzerland has placed economic sanctions on at least 7 senior 
        Venezuelan officials and multiple Venezuelan entities, for violations of 
        individual freedoms and for severely undermining the separation of 
        powers;
Whereas Panama has increased its financial oversight of at least 55 Venezuelans 
        and 16 Venezuelan entities that the United States considered to be a 
        high risk for money laundering;
Whereas Colombia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States have expanded 
        cooperation to fight illegal financial networks that support the 
        repressive government of Nicolas Maduro;
Whereas the United States, the Lima Group, the G-7, and European Union declared 
        the national elections that occurred in Venezuela on May 20, 2018, were 
        illegitimate;
Whereas the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) 
        passed Resolution 1078 (2108/17) on April 3, 2017, expressing ``grave 
        concern regarding the unconstitutional alteration of the democratic 
        order'';
Whereas Executive Order 13835 (83 Fed. Reg. 24001), signed on May 21, 2018, 
        tightened existing sanctions that prohibit United States purchases of 
        Venezuelan debt;
Whereas the government of Nicolas Maduro expelled two senior United States 
        diplomats from Caracas on May 22, 2018, and the United States responded 
        reciprocally on May 23, 2018;
Whereas, on May 29, 2018, a panel of international experts designated by the 
        Secretary General of the OAS found that ``there are reasonable grounds 
        that satisfy the standard of proof required by Article 53 of the Rome 
        Statute'' that the Venezuelan people were subjected to ``crimes against 
        humanity'', and that as a result the situation in Venezuela should be 
        referred to the International Criminal Court; and
Whereas, on June 5, 2018, the General Assembly of the OAS passed a resolution on 
        Venezuela, with the support of 19 countries, reaffirming the 
        ``obligation of the governments [of the Americas] to promote and defend 
        [democracy]'' and declaring that the national elections that occurred on 
        May 20, 2018, were illegitimate ``for not complying with international 
        standards, for not having met the participation of all Venezuelan 
        political actors, and for being carried out without the necessary 
        guarantees for a free, fair, transparent and democratic process'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and 
        the regional humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirms support 
        for the legitimate National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and 
        urges further regional action in support of democracy in 
        Venezuela;
            (2) applauds the efforts of the Lima Group and the 
        countries that voted in favor of the Resolution on the 
        Situation in Venezuela passed by the OAS General Assembly on 
        June 5, 2018, and calls on countries that abstained from the 
        vote or voted against the resolution to join the international 
        community and the region in support of democracy in Venezuela;
            (3) supports the findings of the OAS panel of experts, as 
        presented on May 29, 2018, that there are reasonable grounds to 
        believe that the government of Nicolas Maduro has committed 
        crimes against humanity and urges countries in the region to 
        take actions to support an investigation under international 
        law into crimes against humanity committed by that government;
            (4) expresses concern over the continued humanitarian 
        crisis in Venezuela;
            (5) urges countries in the region to coordinate a regional 
        humanitarian response and to work with European, Asian, and 
        African countries to coordinate the imposition of sanctions and 
        visa bans for Venezuelan officials responsible for the ongoing 
        crisis; and
            (6) calls on the President to increase United States 
        support to the Venezuelan people by providing further 
        humanitarian assistance in the region, imposing additional 
        targeted sanctions on Venezuelan officials, including under the 
        Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 
        2656 note), increasing public diplomacy efforts to expose the 
        levels of corruption among Venezuelan officials, and supporting 
        democratic actors in Venezuela.
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