[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 400 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 400

   Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Venezuela 
    should actively support strategies for ensuring secure airport 
     facilities that meet international certifications to prevent 
 trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics, and laundered money.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2006

Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Coble, 
  Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr. Gallegly, Ms. 
Granger, Ms. Harris, Mr. Issa, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Mack, Mr. Mica, Mr. McCaul 
of Texas, Mr. McCotter, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Pence, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, 
Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Souder, 
 Mr. Weller, and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Venezuela 
    should actively support strategies for ensuring secure airport 
     facilities that meet international certifications to prevent 
 trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics, and laundered money.

Whereas the United States is strongly committed to countries in Latin America 
        that have a shared interest in promoting stability;
Whereas the United States is strongly committed to countries in Latin America 
        that are combating the scourge of drugs and the violence and social 
        degradation caused by narcotics trafficking;
Whereas the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a party to the 1988 United 
        Nations Drug Convention;
Whereas Venezuela is a key transit point for drugs leaving Colombia--the world's 
        primary source of cocaine and South America's top producer of heroin;
Whereas drug trafficking through Venezuela significantly increased in 2005;
Whereas weak law enforcement, corruption, and a weak judicial system in 
        Venezuela allow criminal organizations to act with impunity;
Whereas the Department of State's International Narcotics Control Strategy 
        Report of 2006 describes an increased level of exploitation of the 
        remote and poorly secured 2,200-kilometer border separating Venezuela 
        and Colombia;
Whereas the Department of State's International Narcotics Control Strategy 
        Report of 2006 reports that Colombian cartels and Venezuelan criminal 
        organizations (among other smugglers) routinely exploit a variety of 
        routes and methods to move hundreds of tons of illegal drugs into 
        Venezuela every year, and organized crime in Venezuela has begun to set 
        up operations in foreign countries to receive and distribute drugs in 
        addition to providing transportation services;
Whereas in September 2005, the Government of the United States determined that 
        Venezuela had failed demonstrably to meet its counternarcotics 
        obligations and that Venezuela could no longer be certified as an ally 
        in the war on drugs;
Whereas on April 11, 2006, a commercial plane originating in Venezuela was 
        seized in Mexico at the airport of Ciudad del Carmen, carrying 5.6 tons 
        of cocaine with an estimated street value of $100 million;
Whereas seizure statistics at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas 
        are not available because the Government of Venezuela does not publicize 
        such statistics;
Whereas estimates indicate that as much as 90 percent of the cocaine and heroin 
        trafficked through the Simon Bolivar International Airport over the last 
        12 months was not intercepted;
Whereas the Government of Venezuela continues to fail to effectively utilize 
        several airport security systems provided by the United States 
        specifically aimed at increasing the Simon Bolivar International Airport 
        counternarcotics capabilities;
Whereas the Government of Venezuela has not taken any steps unilaterally to 
        prosecute any corrupt airport officials relating to cases of money 
        laundering or drug trafficking at the airport despite credible 
        intelligence estimates that there is potentially millions of dollars in 
        narcotics proceeds passing through Simon Bolivar International Airport 
        and Venezuela; and
Whereas the Government of Venezuela and the Venezuela National Anti-Drug Office 
        (ONA) have officially reported only two seizures of currency in 2006, 
        one for $13,865 in United States currency and the other for 7,000 euros: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) strongly condemns the actions and inactions of 
                the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 
                which have created fertile ground for criminal drug 
                trafficking organizations;
                    (B) strongly condemns the failures on the part of 
                the Government of Venezuela to stem the flow of 
                narcotics through its territory; and
                    (C) strongly condemns the complicity of senior 
                Venezuelan Government law enforcement officials and 
                transportation officials who are effectively enabling 
                large scale shipments of both cocaine and heroine at 
                the Simon Bolivar International Airport and other 
                transit points; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) it should continue to be the policy of the 
                United States to support cooperation between Venezuela 
                and partners in the Andean region to combat trafficking 
                in narcotics and other controlled substances;
                    (B) steps should continue to be taken to restore 
                cooperation between Venezuela and the United States 
                Drug Enforcement Administration;
                    (C) it should continue to be the policy of the 
                United States to work with the international community, 
                including the Organization of American States (OAS), to 
                assist with a thorough review of the measures in place 
                at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas;
                    (D) it should continue to be the policy of the 
                United States to work with other member states of OAS 
                to bring Venezuela into compliance and fully adhere to 
                OAS conventions and comprehensive treaties to prevent, 
                punish, and eliminate narco-terrorism, which 
                constitutes ``a serious threat to democratic values and 
                to international peace and security'';
                    (E) the Secretary of Transportation should provide 
                to Congress not later than 180 days after the date of 
                the adoption of this resolution, on behalf of the 
                Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, 
                Department of Justice, and the Department of 
                Transportation, a report with an assessment of the 
                process undertaken by the Government of Venezuela 
                toward restoring airport security measures and controls 
                that meet international standards of safety; and
                    (F) the Secretary of State should provide to 
                Congress not later than 180 days after the date of the 
                adoption of this resolution a report on Venezuela's 
                compliance with its responsibilities under 
                international counternarcotics treaties.
                                 <all>