[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 35 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 35

  Expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, 
  social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of 
  political prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and 
        democratic processes, including free and fair elections.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 1, 2017

    Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cotton, Mr. 
   Menendez, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. 
 Perdue) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

                           February 28, 2017

             Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, 
  social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of 
  political prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and 
        democratic processes, including free and fair elections.

Whereas the deterioration of basic governance and the economic crisis in 
        Venezuela have led to an unprecedented humanitarian situation in which 
        people are suffering from severe shortages of essential medicines and 
        basic food products;
Whereas Venezuela lacks more than 80 percent of the basic medical supplies and 
        equipment needed to treat its population, including medicine to treat 
        chronic illnesses and cancer as well as basic antibiotics, and 85 
        percent of pharmacies are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the 
        Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation;
Whereas, despite the massive shortages of basic foodstuffs and essential 
        medicines, President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has rejected repeated 
        requests from civil society organizations to bring humanitarian aid into 
        the country;
Whereas the International Monetary Fund assesses that, in Venezuela, gross 
        domestic product will contract 10 percent and inflation will exceed 700 
        percent in 2016, accelerating to over 1,600 percent in 2017, the worst 
        anticipated growth and inflation performance in the world;
Whereas Venezuela's political, economic, and humanitarian crisis is fueling 
        social tensions that are resulting in growing incidents of public 
        unrest, looting, violence among citizens, and an exodus of Venezuelans 
        abroad;
Whereas Caracas continues to have the highest per capita homicide rate in the 
        world at 120 per 100,000 citizens, according to the United Nations 
        Office on Drug and Crime;
Whereas the deterioration of governance in Venezuela has been exacerbated by 
        widespread public corruption and the involvement of public officials in 
        illicit narcotics trafficking and related money laundering;
Whereas, on August 1, 2016, General Nestor Reverol, Venezuela's current Minister 
        of Interior and former National Guard commander, was indicted in the 
        United States for participating in an international cocaine trafficking 
        conspiracy;
Whereas, on November 18, 2016, Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain 
        Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of President Maduro and Venezuelan First 
        Lady Cilia Flores, were convicted by a United States Federal jury on 
        charges of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States;
Whereas international and domestic human rights groups, such as Venezuelan 
        organization Foro Penal, recognize more than 100 political prisoners in 
        Venezuela, including opposition leader and former Chacao mayor Leopoldo 
        Lopez, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, and 
        former San Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos;
Whereas the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela serves as 
        the foundation for political processes in Venezuela;
Whereas, in December 2015, the people of Venezuela elected the opposition 
        coalition (Mesa de Unidad Democratica) to a two-thirds majority in the 
        unicameral National Assembly, with 112 out of the 167 seats;
Whereas, in late December 2015, the outgoing National Assembly confirmed to the 
        Supreme Court of Venezuela magistrates politically aligned with the 
        Maduro Administration and, thereafter, the Supreme Court blocked four 
        legislators, including 3 opposition legislators, from taking office;
Whereas, during the first year of the new legislature, the Supreme Court has 
        repeatedly overturned legislation passed by the democratically elected 
        National Assembly;
Whereas, in 2016, President Maduro has utilized emergency and legislative decree 
        powers to bypass the National Assembly, which, alongside the actions of 
        the Supreme Court, have severely undermined the principles of separation 
        of powers in Venezuela;
Whereas, in May 2016, Organization of American States Secretary General Luis 
        Almagro presented a 132-page report outlining grave alterations of the 
        democratic order in Venezuela and invoked Article 20 of the Inter-
        American Democratic Charter, which calls on the OAS Permanent Council 
        ``to undertake a collective assessment of the situation'';
Whereas, in late October 2016, Venezuela's state courts and National Electoral 
        Council, which are comprised of political allies of President Maduro, 
        halted efforts to hold a referendum pursuant to provisions of the 
        Venezuelan constitution to recall President Maduro, thereby denying the 
        Venezuelan people the ability to pursue a democratic solution to 
        Venezuela's crisis; and
Whereas, in November 2016, sectors of the opposition and the Government of 
        Venezuela initiated a dialogue, facilitated by the Vatican, in an effort 
        to pursue a negotiated solution to the country's political, economic, 
        social, and humanitarian crisis: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses its profound concern about widespread 
        shortages of essential medicines and basic food products faced 
        by the people of Venezuela, and urges President Maduro to 
        permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance;
            (2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to immediately 
        release all political prisoners and to respect internationally 
        recognized human rights;
            (3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dialogue that 
        leads to respect for Venezuela's constitutional mechanisms and 
        resolves the country's political, economic, social, and 
        humanitarian crisis;
            (4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary General Almagro's 
        invocation of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic 
        Charter and urges the OAS Permanent Council, which represents 
        all of the organization's member states, to undertake a 
        collective assessment of the constitutional and democratic 
        order in Venezuela;
            (5) calls on the Government of Venezuela to ensure the 
        neutrality and professionalism of all security forces and to 
        respect the Venezuelan people's rights to freedom of expression 
        and assembly;
            (6) calls on the Government of Venezuela to halt its 
        efforts to undermine the principle of separation of powers, its 
        circumvention of the democratically elected legislature, and 
        its subjugation of judicial independence;
            (7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule of law 
        and increasing efforts to combat impunity and public corruption 
        in Venezuela, which has bankrupted a resource-rich country, 
        fuels rising social tensions, and contributes to elevated 
        levels of crime and violence; and
            (8) urges the President of the United States to provide 
        full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and 
        democratic solutions to the political impasse, and to instruct 
        appropriate Federal agencies to hold officials of the 
        Government of Venezuela accountable for violations of United 
        States law and abuses of internationally recognized human 
        rights.
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