[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1403 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1403

    Recognizing Edmundo Gonzalez of Venezuela as the winner of the 
Venezuelan Election which took place on July 28th, 2024 and condemning 
                           the Maduro regime.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2024

  Mr. Gimenez (for himself, Mr. Mooney, and Mr. Owens) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Recognizing Edmundo Gonzalez of Venezuela as the winner of the 
Venezuelan Election which took place on July 28th, 2024 and condemning 
                           the Maduro regime.

Whereas, since 2005, the United States has imposed targeted sanctions on 
        individuals and entities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that 
        have engaged in criminal, anti-democratic, unconstitutional, or corrupt 
        acts and violated basic human rights;
Whereas, since 2006, the Secretary of State has determined that Venezuela is not 
        ``cooperating fully with United States anti-terrorism efforts'' as 
        outlined in section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2781);
Whereas, since obtaining power in 2013, Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate 
        regime have committed countless criminal, anti-democratic, 
        unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and violated basic human rights, 
        including--

    (1) embezzling billions of dollars from the Venezuelan people, 
including through the illicit removal of gold from the Central Bank of 
Venezuela;

    (2) declaring approximately 12 percent of the country to be a part of 
an ``Orinoco Mining Arc'' and using his position to oversee the 
exploitation of vital resources for personal gain; and

    (3) establishing the Special Action Force of the National Police (FAES) 
in 2017, which has since been replaced by the Directorate of Strategic and 
Tactical Actions, and utilizing them to execute illegal raids, unlawful 
arrests, and extrajudicial killings;

Whereas, upon being elected President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, 
        Juan Guaido invoked relevant articles of the Venezuelan constitution and 
        became the Interim President of Venezuela;
Whereas, on January 10, 2019, Nicolas Maduro unlawfully usurped the presidency 
        of Venezuela, and his rule was deemed illegitimate by many Venezuelans 
        and more than 50 countries, including most of the neighboring countries 
        of Venezuela, the United States, and the majority of the European Union;
Whereas, since unlawfully reassuming the presidency in 2019, Nicolas Maduro has 
        exacerbated ongoing economic and humanitarian crises, and forced more 
        than 7,700,000 people to flee Venezuela;
Whereas Nicolas Maduro has provided diplomatic support to, and engaged with, 
        countries that have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism under 
        United States law, including by--

    (1) allowing the Republic of Cuba to restructure the Venezuelan 
military, train Armed Forces in Venezuela, and train Venezuelan 
intelligence agents in Communist Cuba,

    (2) stating that Venezuela is ``grateful to Cuba's revolutionary Armed 
Forces'' and ``salute them and will always welcome them'';

    (3) awarding a $490,000,000 contract to the state-owned National 
Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company to revamp the Paraguana 
Refining Center, the largest refining complex in Venezuela; and

    (4) establishing a diplomatic mission and embassy in the Democratic 
People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as ``North Korea'') and allowing 
North Korea to similarly establish a mission and embassy in Venezuela;

Whereas, in response to the numerous criminal, anti-democratic, 
        unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and basic human rights violations 
        committed by Nicolas Maduro and persons serving in his illegitimate 
        regime, the United States has imposed a number of sanctions on him and 
        his enablers, including--

    (1) on March 8, 2015, when President Barack Obama issued Executive 
Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property and 
suspending entry of certain persons contributing to the situation in 
Venezuela) to sanction persons engaged in public corruption activities and 
involved in human rights violations, the persecution of political 
opponents, the curtailment of press freedoms, and the arbitrary arrest and 
detention of anti-government protestors;

    (2) on August 24, 2017, when President Donald Trump issued Executive 
Order 13808 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to imposing additional sanctions 
with respect to the situation in Venezuela), which prohibited the 
Government of Venezuela from accessing financial markets of the United 
States;

    (3) on March 19, 2018, when President Donald Trump issued Executive 
Order 13827 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to taking additional steps to 
address the situation in Venezuela) to prohibit any transaction involving 
the issuance of any Venezuelan digital currency;

    (4) on May 21, 2018, when President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 
13835 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to prohibiting certain additional 
transactions with respect to Venezuela) to prohibit transactions related to 
purchasing Venezuelan debt;

    (5) on August 5, 2019, when President Donald Trump issued Executive 
Order 13884 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property of the 
Government of Venezuela), freezing the assets of the Maduro government in 
the United States and blocking the property, imposing visa restrictions, 
and permitting financial sanctions on non-United States persons that assist 
the Maduro government; and

    (6) under section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, Foreign 
Operations and Related Appropriations Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-6; 133 
Stat. 317) and section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, Foreign 
Operations and Related Appropriations Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-94; 133 
Stat. 2864);

Whereas, on October 17, 2023, the illegitimate Maduro regime signed the Partial 
        Agreement on the Promotion of Political Rights and Electoral Guarantees 
        for All (commonly known as the ``Barbados Agreement''), which states 
        that all parties, including the opposition party, shall be allowed to 
        freely select their candidates for the presidential election;
Whereas the Biden Administration--

    (1) on October 18, 2023, in response to the signing of the Barbados 
Agreement, issued General License No. 44 and suspended certain sanctions on 
Venezuela's oil and gas sector; and

    (2) allowed General License No. 44 to expire on April 18, 2024, in 
response the illegitimate Maduro regime preventing the democratic 
opposition from registering the candidate of their choice, harassing and 
intimidating political opponents, and unjustly detaining numerous political 
actors and members of civil society;

Whereas Maria Corina Machado--

    (1) was elected by the people of Venezuela on October 26, 2023, as the 
opposition candidate to run against the illegitimate Maduro regime in the 
July 28, 2024, presidential election in Venezuela;

    (2) was subsequently disqualified on January 26, 2024, by the Supreme 
Justice Tribunal, the highest court of Venezuela, from running in the 
election and was not provided the opportunity to respond to the 
disqualifying allegations in court; and

    (3) endorsed Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to run for President of Venezuela 
since her unwarranted disqualification, stating on the campaign trail, ``We 
are united and strong'';

Whereas, on December 20, 2023, the Maduro regime finally released 6 wrongfully 
        detained United States citizens in Venezuela only after the Biden 
        Administration agreed to release Alex Saab, who was charged in Federal 
        court in October 2021, for laundering the proceeds of violations of the 
        Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-213; 91 Stat. 1494) 
        in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of the 
        exchange rate controlled by Venezuela;
Whereas the Department of State has described Saab as ``one of the two most 
        important money men in the Maduro government'' and ``the middle man'' 
        between Maduro's narco-terrorist regime and the Islamic Republic of 
        Iran;
Whereas prior to his arrest, Saab established the illegal ``Gold for Gas'' 
        scheme with Iran, allowing the country to avoid sanctions and be paid in 
        Venezuelan gold in exchange for sham ``humanitarian'' deliveries of fuel 
        to Venezuela;
Whereas, on January 15, 2024, Maduro proved to the world that he operates a 
        criminal enterprise disguised as a country when he named Alex Saab as 
        the head of Venezuela's International Investment Center;
Whereas the illegitimate Maduro regime has exhibited a clear pattern of 
        corruption, ruling by force, and undermining stability and democracy in 
        Venezuela;
Whereas in the hours following the presidential election, the National Electoral 
        Council in Venezuela halted the Transmission of vote count data and 
        prevented opposition poll watchers from viewing the voting data; and
Whereas, on July 28, 2024, the people of Venezuela held their presidential 
        election, which exit polls showed the overwhelming favorite and victor 
        to be Edmundo Gonzalez: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates the citizens of Venezuela for using their 
        voice and vote to stand up to Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship;
            (2) denounces the attempt by the illegitimate Maduro regime 
        to intimidate and repress the Venezuelan people, including 
        Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, Maria Corina Machado, and other 
        opposition leaders, through any kind of violence;
            (3) applauds Secretary Anthony Blinken and Assistant 
        Secretary Brian Nichols for their work with international 
        partners to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the rightful winner 
        of the Venezuelan election on July 28, 2024;
            (4) encourages the Biden Administration impose additional 
        sanctions on Maduro and his coconspirators in their 
        illegitimate attempt to commit electoral fraud and make a 
        mockery of the presidential election; and
            (5) recognizes Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the 
        Venezuelan Presidential election on July 28, 2024.
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