[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 44 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 44

 Denouncing the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative elections, the 
absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent 
electoral processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan 
                               democracy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2021

 Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Scott 
 of Florida, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Denouncing the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative elections, the 
absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent 
electoral processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan 
                               democracy.

Whereas, on December 6, 2020, the regime of Nicolas Maduro held fraudulent 
        legislative elections for Venezuela's National Assembly that did not 
        comply with international standards for free, fair, and transparent 
        electoral processes;
Whereas the Maduro regime sought to use fraudulent legislative elections to 
        install a new National Assembly on January 5, 2021, in an effort to 
        undermine Venezuela's National Assembly, which was democratically 
        elected in 2015;
Whereas, pursuant to section 112 of the VERDAD Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 9702), it 
        is the policy of the United States to recognize the democratically 
        elected National Assembly of Venezuela, elected in December 2015 and 
        sworn in on January 2016, as the only legitimate national legislative 
        body in Venezuela;
Whereas the United States and more than 50 countries--including Canada, the 27 
        member countries of the European Union, and 21 members of the 
        Organization of American States, among others--have expressed concern 
        about the lack of legitimacy of the December 6, 2020, electoral process 
        held in Venezuela and the Maduro regime's failure to meet international 
        standards for a free, fair, and transparent election;
Whereas, on January 6, 2021, the European Union issued a public statement on the 
        Maduro regime's December 6, 2020, legislative elections, stating that 
        ``the elections failed to comply with international standards'' and that 
        it does not recognize the electoral process as ``credible, inclusive or 
        transparent, nor . . . its outcome to be considered as representative of 
        the democratic will of the Venezuelan people'';
Whereas, on January 5, 2021, members of the Lima Group--including Brazil, 
        Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, 
        Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela--issued a joint 
        declaration stating that the Lima Group does not ``recognize the 
        legitimacy or legality of the National Assembly installed on January 5, 
        2021. This illegitimate National Assembly is the product of the 
        fraudulent elections of December 6, 2020, organized by the illegitimate 
        regime of Nicolas Maduro.'';
Whereas, on December 8, 2020, the International Contact Group--including Costa 
        Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the European Union, France, 
        Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the 
        United Kingdom and Uruguay--issued a public declaration stating that the 
        Maduro regime's December 6, 2020, elections did not meet internationally 
        accepted standards, ``[n]or did they meet conditions required by 
        Venezuelan laws,'' and that ``they cannot recognise the results of this 
        electoral process as legitimate or representative of the will of the 
        Venezuelan people'';
Whereas, on June 12, 2020, the Maduro regime's illegitimate Supreme Court 
        unilaterally appointed new members to Venezuela's National Electoral 
        Council without the approval of the democratically elected National 
        Assembly;
Whereas, throughout 2020, the Maduro regime--

    (1) sought to co-opt and undermine independent political parties 
through a campaign of systematic persecution; and

    (2) used its discredited Supreme Court to strip independent political 
parties of their leadership, including Voluntad Popular, Primero Justicia, 
and Accion Democratica;

Whereas the Maduro regime has a demonstrated track record of holding fraudulent 
        elections over the last four years;
Whereas, in May 2018, the Maduro regime held fraudulent presidential elections 
        that were broadly criticized as illegitimate, leading more than 50 
        countries to recognize the end of Nicolas Maduro's term in office and 
        the inauguration of National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Interim-
        President of Venezuela on January 23, 2019;
Whereas, on July 30, 2017, the Maduro regime manipulated the results for 
        Venezuela's Constituent Assembly by more than 1,000,000 votes, according 
        to Smartmatic, the company that supplied Venezuela's electronic voting 
        machines;
Whereas, according to the Venezuelan constitution, Juan Guaido, as President of 
        the National Assembly, serves as Venezuela's Interim President in the 
        absence of a democratically elected president of Venezuela;
Whereas the conditions do not currently exist for the free, fair, and 
        transparent election of new members of the National Assembly or the 
        president of Venezuela;
Whereas, as of September 7, 2020, the internationally recognized nongovernmental 
        organization Foro Penal confirmed that, out of the 110 individuals 
        recently released from prison by the Maduro regime to serve out the 
        remainder of their sentences under house arrest, 53 were political 
        prisoners, and that currently 363 political prisoners remain unjustly 
        detained by the Maduro regime without due process;
Whereas, on September 16, 2020, the United Nations Independent International 
        Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela found that 
        Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime ordered and carried out 
        a campaign of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, torture, 
        and arbitrary detentions that amounted to systemic crimes against 
        humanity;
Whereas the Maduro regime's efforts to hold fraudulent legislative elections, 
        undermine the democratically elected National Assembly and independent 
        political parties, and implement a campaign of state-sponsored violence 
        and repression further erodes democracy and the rule of law in 
        Venezuela; and
Whereas, as codified under section 4 of the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights 
        and Civil Society Act (Public Law 113-278; 128 U.S.C. 3013), it is the 
        policy of the United States ``to support the people of Venezuela in 
        their aspiration to live under conditions of peace and representative 
        democracy as defined by the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the 
        Organization of American States'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) denounces the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative 
        elections on December 6, 2020, as an effort to undermine 
        Venezuela's democratically elected National Assembly;
            (2) does not recognize the legitimacy of the National 
        Assembly installed by the Maduro regime on January 6, 2021;
            (3) joins members of the international community, including 
        members of the Lima Group, the Organization of American States, 
        and the European Union, in rightfully rejecting the Maduro's 
        regime's fraudulent and illegitimate legislative elections on 
        December 6, 2020;
            (4) urges that presidential and legislative elections in 
        Venezuela be conducted at the earliest possible date that 
        conditions for international standards for free, fair, and 
        transparent electoral processes, including credible 
        international election observation, can be met;
            (5) calls on the Maduro regime to cease its campaign of 
        systematic persecution against Venezuela's independent 
        political parties and their leadership;
            (6) calls on the Maduro regime to immediately release all 
        political prisoners, facilitate access by humanitarian 
        organizations, and end its campaign of extrajudicial 
        executions, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary 
        detentions of political opponents, human rights defenders, 
        civil society activists, peaceful protesters, and citizens; and
            (7) takes note of the finding of the United Nations 
        Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the 
        Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that the Maduro regime's 
        campaign of state-sponsored violence and repression against the 
        people of Venezuela amounted to crimes against humanity, and 
        calls for Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime to be 
        held accountable for their actions.
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