[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 400 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 27 (legislative day, July 26), 2006

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign 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 working with countries in 
        Latin America and the Caribbean that have a shared interest in promoting 
        regional stability;
Whereas the United States is strongly committed to working with countries in 
        Latin America and the Caribbean 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 United Nations 
        Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic 
        Substances (1988 UN 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 reports that Colombian cartels, guerrilla groups, and 
        paramilitary organizations 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 the promulgation by Venezuela of two new laws in October 2005, the ``Law 
        against Organized Crime'' and the ``Law against the Trafficking and 
        Consumption of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances'', brought 
        Venezuelan law into compliance with the 1988 UN Drug Convention; 
        however, it is not certain, according to the Department of State, 
        whether Venezuela's political and judicial institutions are up to the 
        task of vigorous and impartial implementation of such new laws;
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 illicit 
                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 heroin 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 
                bilateral law enforcement 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.