    [Senate Hearing 115-696]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                        S. Hrg. 115-696

                        THE COLLAPSE OF THE RULE OF LAW
                    IN VENEZUELA: WHAT THE UNITED STATES AND
                        THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CAN
                            DO TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN
                        HEMISPHERE, TRANSNATIONAL CRIME,
                      CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, HUMAN
                       RIGHTS, AND GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES

                                     OF THE

                         COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 JULY 19, 2017

                                   __________

           Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                       Available via the World Wide Web:
                             http://www.govinfo.gov

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    37-908 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2019

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                    BOB CORKER, Tennessee, Chairman
    JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho                BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
    MARCO RUBIO, Florida                 ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
    JEFF FLAKE, Arizona                  CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware
    CORY GARDNER, Colorado               TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    TODD, YOUNG, Indiana                 CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut
    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               TIM KAINE, Virginia
    JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia              EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
    ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
    RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
                      Todd Womack, Staff Director
                Jessica Lewis, Democratic Staff Director
                        John Dutton, Chief Clerk

           SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE, TRANSNATIONAL
               CRIME, CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, HUMAN
                   RIGHTS, AND GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES

                     MARCO RUBIO, Florida, Chairman
    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
    JEFF FLAKE, Arizona                  TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    CORY GARDNER, Colorado               JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
    JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia              TIM KAINE, Virginia

                                  (ii)

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

    Rubio, Hon. Marco, U.S. Senator from Florida.....................     1

    Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator from New Jersey..............     4

    Almagro, Hon. Luis, Secretary General, Organization of American
      States (OAS), Washington, DC...................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................    24

                  Additional Material Submitted for the Record

    Statement for the Record Submitted by Carlos Vecchio, LLM and
      MPA, National Political Coordinator of Voluntad Popular
      (Popular Will, opposition political party, member of the
      Unitary Alliance)..............................................    29

    Organization of American States (OAS)--Report on Venezuela--May
      30, 2016. Submitted to the committee by Luis Almagro, Secretary
      General, OAS...................................................    31

    Organization of American States (OAS)--Updated Report on
      Venezuela--March 14, 2017. Submitted to the committee by Luis
      Almagro, Secretary General, OAS................................    32

    Organization of American States (OAS)--Resolution on the Recent
      Events in Venezuela............................................    33

    Balance de Victimas Fallecadas y Lesionadas Durante--
      Manifestaciones en Abril-Julio de 2017.........................    35

                                 (iii)

                       THE COLLAPSE OF THE RULE OF LAW IN
                       VENEZUELA: WHAT THE UNITED STATES
                        AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
                          CAN DO TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2017

                                   U.S. Senate,
     Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational
    Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights,
                             and Global Women's Issues,
                                Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 4:16 p.m. in
    Room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Marco Rubio,
    chairman of the subcommittee, presiding.
        Present: Senators Rubio [presiding], Gardner, Menendez, and
    Kaine.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARCO RUBIO,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA

        Senator Rubio. Good afternoon. This is a hearing of the
    Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime,
    Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's
    Issues.
        This committee has jurisdiction over a large number of
    issues. It is rare that every single one of them is being
    challenged in one place at one time, and I think the subject of
    today's hearing is a place where you can argue that
    transnational crime is present. Civilian security is in danger.
    Democracy is severely endangered. Human rights is violated on a
    regular basis. And as far as global women's issues, some of the
    bravest activists on behalf of Venezuelan democracy have been
    women, including Lilian Tintori, among others, who have been
    treated brutally by the Maduro regime.
        The title of this hearing is ``The Collapse of the Rule of
    Law in Venezuela: What the United States and the International
    Community Can Do to Restore Democracy'' and today we will have
    one panel and one witness, and it will feature the Honorable
    Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of
    American States. It is a unique privilege and honor to have him
    here today. As the ranking member commented in the hearing we
    had in this very room about an hour ago, it is not a
    commonplace occurrence in which an ambassador of an
    international multinational organization such as the OAS is
    before us.
        Secretary Almagro was elected Secretary General of the OAS
    on the 18th of March, the year 2015. He is a career diplomat.
    He was the Foreign Minister of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, and
    he has extensive regional and international experience. In
    2014, ``Foreign Policy'' magazine named him a leading global
    thinker, one of 10 decision-makers in the world who have been
    granted this international distinction.
        But the area in which we have seen him, I believe, exhibit
    extraordinary leadership is as a staunch voice on efforts to
    restore democracy in Venezuela. And we are fortunate to have
    him here with us today.
        I am going to abbreviate my opening statement because I do
    want to get into the Secretary General's statement. And I know
    that the ranking member, who has been working on this issue
    even before me being here in the Senate, has comments that he
    needs and wants and should make as well.
        I want to be fundamentally clear. There is a lot of
    misunderstanding about the conflict that is occurring in
    Venezuela. A lot of people talk to me about the opposition, and
    while, indeed, they are in opposition to Maduro's regime, they
    are in fact the majority party in the National Assembly. In
    essence, they are the majority, not the opposition. The problem
    is that the people with the guns and the army who are in charge
    of Venezuela have canceled democracy.
        For those, I imagine, attending this hearing today you do
    so because you have an interest in it. For those who may watch
    it now or in the future, you need to understand that what has
    happened there is the following. And I apply what has happened
    there to what it would be like if it happened here.
        Imagine if the United States had an executive branch that
    basically took over the Supreme Court and put political cronies
    on it, canceled all funding and all function of the Congress,
    both House and Senate, went further and actually ordered the
    Capitol Police to attack the United States Congress if we tried
    to conduct our functions, cut off all operations, no salaries,
    no paper, no ink, nothing, no lights in terms of being able to
    meet, in essence, completely wiped out an elected National
    Assembly under the constitution of that country.
        Imagine further, that they announce we are not holding
    elections. We are not holding elections this year for governors
    and the legislative branch. We are not holding elections in the
    future for President. In fact, we are going to put together
    this fraudulent assembly, and we are going to impose a Cuban-
    style dictatorship under the guise of some sort of popular
    governance. That is the situation in Venezuela.
        Imagine even further, as an element of all this, that
    elements within the government armed non-uniformed individuals
    and ordered them into the streets to attack protesters and beat
    them. That is the situation in Venezuela.
        Imagine that they make trumped-up charges where they
    basically arrest political opponents, accuse them of ridiculous
    things, and jail them for extensive periods of time without
    charging, without recourse to the courts. That is the situation
    in Venezuela.
        And that is what brings us to this point. What the
    overwhelming majority of people in Venezuela are asking for is
    simply a return to constitutional order. And I would say to you
    that it is not just the people that do not like the current
    leadership. It is people that actually agreed with Hugo Chavez.
    There are people who were supporters of Hugo Chavez and of the
    constitution of Venezuela, and they have now aligned themselves
    with that cause, not because they ideologically agree with some
    members of the opposition but because, above all else, they
    want to see the rule of law restored. Chief among those voices
    is the current Attorney General of Venezuela, who, on a steady
    pace over a period of time, has begun to be critical of the
    Maduro regime. Today, she is now being charged with crimes for
    having done so. This is the horrifying situation.
        And if on the 30th of July they move forward with this
    constituent assembly, which is a fraud, it will be--for the
    first time in my recollection--nullification of the
    constitution of the democratic order of a nation in this
    hemisphere in probably over 40 years. There have been coup
    d'etats. There have been strongmen that have emerged from time
    to time and disrupted the constitutional and democratic order,
    and there have most certainly been non-democratic leaders
    elected who then have not governed as democrats. But we have
    never seen a structural imposition of a Cuban-style model in
    over 4 decades in the region. It would be tragic. It would be
    tragic anywhere.
        It is especially tragic that it is happening in Venezuela,
    a nation blessed with educated, entrepreneurial people with a
    deep culture of democracy and, by the way, one of the richest
    nations in the world, with natural resources and human
    resources. Its tragic that today its people cannot buy toilet
    paper, cannot buy toothpaste, and cannot access basic
    medications in their hospitals, all as the direct result of the
    Maduro regime's decisions.
        And finally, further complicating this matter is the
    existence within that government of narcotrafficking elements,
    multiple leaders and figures in that regime who, in addition to
    operating governmental entities, are also involved in
    narcotrafficking activity to the tune of hundreds of millions
    of dollars, if not billions. We have a catastrophe.
        And I conclude my remarks by saying that it is my hope that
    we can continue to work through organisms like the OAS in
    partnership with nations in the region such as Mexico, Canada,
    Brazil, and Argentina, among others who have stood forward on
    this. I am encouraged to see statements out of the European
    Union, out of Spain, and from multiple other nations that have
    pronounced themselves on this. I am hopeful of that. I think
    that is the ideal way forward.
        I also know this. And I do not speak for the President, but
    I have certainly spoken to the President. And I will only
    reiterate what he has already said, and I have been saying this
    now for a number of days. I have 100 percent confidence that if
    democracy is destroyed once and for all in Venezuela on the
    30th, in terms of the Maduro regime, the President of the
    United States is prepared to act unilaterally in a significant
    and swift way. And that is not a threat. That is the reporting
    of the truth.
        But in any event, we are hopeful that there is another way
    forward, but time is running out. And I certainly, within that
    context, continue to be hopeful that a real resolution can come
    about in the OAS, but not through some fake negotiation
    designed to extend and buy time, but through a process that
    restores the democratic order, restores the National Assembly,
    holds free, fair, and internationally supervised elections, and
    frees political prisoners. There is nothing to negotiate, other
    than who is in charge of making that happen. Anything else is a
    waste of time and nothing but a diversionary tactic on behalf
    of the Maduro regime to try to hold onto power.
        So we are very excited that the Secretary General is here.
    We look forward to hearing from him.
        And I recognize the ranking member, Senator Menendez.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY

        Senator Menendez. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
    holding this most important hearing today.
        And I especially want to thank our esteemed witness, the
    Secretary General, Luis Almagro. We are fully aware that it is
    not quite standard for the sitting Secretary General of an
    intergovernmental organization to testify before this
    committee, but your testimony and participation today speak to
    the gravity and importance of the crisis in Venezuela and in
    our hemisphere. I want to say that you have been an outspoken
    and vocal advocate for the values that bind democratic nations
    together and form the basis of regional and international
    cooperation that will ultimately bring peace and prosperity to
    our hemisphere. Given the stature of your position, I
    appreciate your leadership on Venezuela in particular, but
    beyond that, the important point of ensuring that the OAS
    stands for the principles of the rule of law, of democratic
    values, and shared responsibility, in essence, the democratic
    charter of the OAS.
        Now, between the referendum last Sunday, the proposed
    election on the 30th, and the ongoing humanitarian suffering of
    many Venezuelans, this hearing could not be more timely. The
    more than 7 million Venezuelans who braved intimidation and
    violence from their president to express themselves in a
    peaceful democratic process are testaments to the remnants of
    democracy that still thrive in Venezuela. They not only
    overwhelmingly express rejection of Maduro's efforts to further
    consolidate his own power but also show the hemisphere and the
    world the power of organization and mobilization in the face of
    an autocratic president.
        Venezuelans who have, for the past few years, suffered a
    serious humanitarian crisis--nearly 90 percent of the
    population reported last year that they did not have enough
    money to buy basic food supplies. Diseases that had previously
    been eradicated from the country, diseases such as malaria and
    diphtheria have reemerged--are still marching in the streets
    and petitioning for their basic rights.
        Even as their president prevents international support for
    the basic humanitarian needs of its citizens, blocking an
    effort by the National Assembly to facilitate international
    assistance, they are voting to demand fundamental freedoms.
        Despite the suffering of his people and the international
    outcry, Maduro insists on clinging onto the shards of a failed
    ideology his predecessor and a few colleagues in the region
    still champion. Without going into a full history of the
    calamitous actions he has taken in the name of the people or
    the revolution, some highlights include dissolving the National
    Assembly and then holding the legislative body in contempt,
    preventing the democratically-elected assembly from passing
    laws, stacking the Supreme Court with loyalists to prevent an
    effective judicial branch or check on executive power, jailing
    opposition leaders and preventing them from running for office,
    expelling foreign media and curbing freedom of the press,
    violently attacking peaceful protesters, giving control of food
    supply to the military, who turn the responsibility of
    providing for the population into a profitable black market
    operation. This is happening in our own hemisphere with
    significant consequences for regional peace and stability.
        In 2016, Venezuelans became the top United States asylum
    seekers, with claims increasing 150 percent from 2015 to 2016.
    Venezuelans are also fleeing to neighboring Colombia, itself in
    the process of implementing a precarious peace accord, and
    Brazil.
        Without vigilance and accountability, our adversaries will
    be quick to step in. So I was pleased to work with the chairman
    earlier this year to bring the Treasury Department's attention
    to Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA's mortgage of
    debt to a Russian state-owned company Rosneft. PDVSA, in turn,
    owns CITGO, which has significant infrastructure here in the
    United States. And this deal could potentially put critical
    energy infrastructure into the hands of Russia.
        China has also stepped in to help Venezuela's failing
    economy.
        In 2014, I was pleased to help the Congress pass into law
    the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act,
    which imposed sanctions on officials in the government most
    responsible for the erosion of democracy. And I am pleased to
    see Congress extend those sanctions in 2017.
        I also urged the full committee to consider the Venezuela
    Humanitarian Assistance in Defense of Democratic Governance
    Act, which we introduced in May. This comprehensive legislation
    authorizes humanitarian support, expands the scope of
    sanctions, calls on the administration to develop a
    multilateral strategy and express support for the OAS's
    democracy restoration and election monitoring efforts.
        The United States, of course, cannot act alone. Democratic
    countries in the Western Hemisphere must be united in our
    values to uphold the rule of law and to champion democratic
    values. In that vein, it is critical that the Organization of
    American States maintain pressure not just on Venezuela, but to
    try to ensure that member countries are working in a unified
    fashion. I know the Secretary General has that as part of his
    mission.
        I have been disappointed to see many countries in the
    region, particularly in the Caribbean, continue to stand with
    the assault on Venezuelan democracy or refrain from explicitly
    condemning undemocratic actions at the OAS. Along with Senator
    Rubio, I have expressed the importance of standing up with the
    people of Venezuela and unequivocally against usurpations of
    power and undemocratic actions to various foreign dignitaries.
    I know that I am banned from going to Venezuela by the Maduro
    regime, but I will continue to speak out for democracy and
    human rights in the Western Hemisphere wherever it may be and
    certainly in Venezuela.
        Mr. Secretary, we welcome you and we look forward to your
    insights.
        Senator Rubio. Thank you to the ranking member.
        Secretary, thank you for being here today, and we recognize
    you for your statement.

    STATEMENT OF HON. LUIS ALMAGRO, SECRETARY GENERAL, ORGANIZATION
                  OF AMERICAN STATES, WASHINGTON, D.C.

        Secretary General Almagro. Senator Rubio, Senator Menendez,
    members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to
    be with you today as we address the ongoing crisis in
    Venezuela.
        The OAS, the Organization of American States, is the only
    multilateral forum that has taken action against the
    dictatorship in Venezuela.
        On April 3rd, 2017, the Permanent Council passed Resolution
    1078 declaring an ``alteration of the constitutional order'' in
    Venezuela.
        The OAS declared the Supreme Court decision to suspend the
    powers of the National Assembly as inconsistent with democratic
    practices and constitutes an alteration of the constitutional
    order in Venezuela.
        We urged the Venezuelan Government to ensure the full
    restoration of the democratic order.
        We requested that the Venezuelan Government safeguard the
    separation and independence of powers.
        We said that we stand ready to support measures to return
    to democratic order and to take diplomatic initiatives to
    foster the restoration of the democratic institutional system
    in accordance with the OAS founding charter and the Inter-
    American Democratic Charter.
        The international community has a vital responsibility when
    faced with tyranny and repression.
        Venezuela is going through a decisive moment. In play is
    the sovereignty of the people and the survival of the
    constitution, the last link of the country with the rule of
    law. In 100 days of citizen protests, nearly 100 people have
    been killed, the majority of them young people, many of them
    minors. The number of political prisoners has risen to 473, and
    415 civilians have been brought before military courts. The
    systematic violation of human rights and basic freedoms is the
    worst attack against the constitution.
        The regime proposes more abuse, more repression,
    increasingly less freedom, and the tool that it proposes to
    institutionalize this is a Constituent Assembly, a Constituent
    Assembly imposed by decree without the people and against the
    people, setting the will of the dictatorship above the popular
    will expressed through a universal and direct vote.
        I echo the words of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference.
    ``The mentioned constituent project seeks to impose a
    dictatorial regime on the country. In addition, by privileging,
    in its composition, sectoral voting bases with no legal
    support, it violates the right to all people to elect and be
    elected and the constitutional principle of the proportional
    representation of the population according to territorial
    distribution.''
        And it underlines that ``the National Constituent Assembly
    would have supra-constitutional power, with the aim of
    eliminating the current state bodies, mainly the National
    Assembly, legitimately elected by the people.''
        It is the right and the responsibility of all citizens to
    participate in decisions relating to their own development.
    This is also a necessary condition for the full and effective
    exercise of democracy. Promoting and fostering diverse forms of
    participation strengthens democracy.
        We are in a time in which mediation efforts are taking
    place, all of them, of course, welcomed because they
    demonstrate the commitment of the international community to
    the search for a solution to the crisis. In this context, the
    institution that is in the best condition to act is the
    Episcopal Conference because it is Venezuelan, as we have said,
    because it knows people's feelings, because it knows better
    than anyone the history of this process, and because of its
    immense moral authority.
        From the international community, we have stripped the
    regime of its impunity. The alteration of the constitutional
    order has been recognized and denounced. The return of
    democracy to the country has been called for. Sanctions have
    been applied to corrupt and criminal affiliates of the regime.
    The freeing of political prisoners has been requested, and
    various mediation forums have been offered and will be offered.
        The work of the OAS has been and is essential in this
    sense, but the solution to the crisis is Venezuelan.
        Over the last month, the regime in Venezuela has buried
    democracy, the separation of power, justice, civil guarantees,
    political, economic, and social rights, as well as the
    principles that constitute a legitimate government. All the
    members of the current illegitimate government are responsible,
    and the role of the President of the National Electoral
    Council, Tibisay Lucena, has been crucial in the institutional
    collapse. An independent, impartial, healthy electoral body
    with adequate technical capabilities is fundamental to
    guarantee the political rights of citizens. Its responsibility
    is nothing less than the protection of the strict respect for
    the right to political expression of the people, the only
    sovereign that is legitimate to carry on the country.
        The formula announced by Tibisay Lucena to the National
    Constituent Assembly is as technically absurd as it is
    unconstitutional and undemocratic. The convocation of the
    Constituent Assembly is taking place outside of that stipulated
    in Article 347 of the constitution, which states, The
    Venezuelan people are the only ones who possess the original
    constituent power.'' In this way, it definitely puts an end of
    the right of the Venezuelan people to democracy.
        People like Tibisay Lucena that continue stripping
    democracy of its content work to serve the consolidation of the
    interest of the dictatorship imposed through the suffering of
    its people, sustained by the killing of its people, by the
    political imprisonment of opposition leaders, and by torture.
        The Venezuelan judiciary also has violated the fundamental
    principles by which the people are ensured justice, its
    independence. It has become an essential part of the
    organizational chart of institutional corruption. If justice
    does not follow the principles and values of democracy and the
    rule of law, this accelerates the legitimate functioning of the
    state.
        The Bolivarian National Guard and its head are directly
    responsible for the repression that has murdered, imprisoned,
    and tortured people. The brutal repression shows the National
    Guard as the perpetrator of the violation of right to life,
    freedoms, and guarantees of due process. Behind every detainee,
    every political prisoner, behind every person tortured and
    killed, there is something institutionally responsible in
    Venezuela.
        The Minister of Internal Relation, Nestor Reverol,
    Benavides Torres, General Zavarse lead the two institutions
    charged with the use of force in Venezuela. In this sense, they
    are responsible for every aggression, every shot, and every
    death.
        The return of democracy to Venezuela and the restoration of
    the rule of law is urgent. Legitimacy will only be returned to
    its institution when those in power assume their functions
    according to the constitution and the popular mandate. The
    Minister of Defense, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, has
    separated the armed forces from their fundamental commitments
    to respect the constitution, the laws, and the institution
    itself.
        What can we do? We need to speak at the highest level, at
    the level of presidents, to make joint declarations at the
    highest level. Member states and leaders of the world must
    speak up all together and explore what tools they have at their
    disposal to act.
        I am often asked about sanctions. Let me be clear. The
    sanctions will not worsen the suffering of the Venezuelan
    people.
        A clear message must be sent to Maduro and his colleagues
    that the criminals whose corruption, whose strategy, and whose
    orders have created this crisis and killed countless of their
    citizens should be targeted and held to account.
        We support sanctions to individuals that have committed
    crimes and are accused of corruption, and we need more economic
    pressure on a government that is investing the money it earns
    through the natural resources that belong to the people to
    fight and kill that very same people.
        Torture is a crime against humanity. We intend to support
    investigations, and we ask everybody to do so that may help to
    identify the practices of torture in Venezuela and those
    responsible for them, especially in front of the International
    Criminal Court.
        All our actions should be oriented to resolve this agenda.
    The agenda is free, transparent, just general elections; the
    freeing of political prisoners; restoration of the powers of
    the National Assembly; and an emergency plan to resolve the
    humanitarian crisis of the country.
        Thank you very much.

        [Mr. Almagro's prepared statement is located at the end of
    this transcript, beginning on page 24.]

        Senator Rubio. Thank you so much.
        I will be brief in my questions. They are rather to the
    point.
        From your understanding on the issue of revenue, to the
    extent that Venezuela continues to derive revenues from its oil
    industry, is it your understanding that that money is being
    used simply to try to finance its debt at a discount? Or in
    essence, they are selling that oil now at a steep discount. Is
    it not correct that the majority of the revenues they continue
    to generate are largely being used for corruption and/or to
    finance the debt and that very little of it is being used--and
    is the reason why, for example, there is a humanitarian crisis
    in food, medicine, and other matters?
        Secretary General Almagro. If we see all figures about
    health and nutrition in Venezuela, we see that practically the
    government is not investing at all in its people. All figures
    are awful and demonstrate a clear humanitarian crisis in the
    country: the rates of child mortality, the rates of maternal
    mortality, the rates of bad nutrition of children. And diseases
    that were extinguished in Venezuela for decades like malaria or
    diphtheria have reappeared in the country.
        So we have definitely a government that is not investing at
    all in its people but just trying to buy some wills, the will
    of--through CLAP bags given in order to achieve some political
    support and, of course, to keep working in their political
    agenda in the continent and abroad.
        Nothing is improving. The Government of Venezuela is
    practically the antithesis of any government. Any government
    will try to bring the crisis down to problems, problems back
    down to difficulties and to make the difficulties disappear.
    What we see in Venezuela is the contrary. From nothing, they
    create problems. From the problems, they create crisis, and
    further they escalate this crisis. The situation of the people
    shows that the money of the national resources that belong to
    the people is used to kill these people. The only action of
    government that we see is repression these days.
        Senator Rubio. The question of humanitarian aid and
    assistance, which the Maduro regime continues to block because
    they continue to refuse to acknowledge they have a humanitarian
    crisis. There was, however, a negotiation sponsored by the
    Vatican, mediated talks in November of 2016, and there was
    discussion about establishing a channel for allowing
    humanitarian aid to reach Venezuela possibly through Caritas
    Venezuela, which is an organization affiliated with the
    Catholic Church. To date, that has not happened.
        For those who were not involved or did not see that process
    of negotiation when it comes to the humanitarian aid, to this
    day are they allowing humanitarian aid into the country?
        Secretary General Almagro. They are not allowing
    humanitarian aid into the country. And the only measure that
    somehow release some pressure, some social pressure, was when
    they opened the border with Colombia in order to allow the
    people that live in border states to be able to buy their basic
    needs on the other side. But no international help is able to
    get into the country. There is definitely a need for action
    about that. And when you do these political measures, at the
    expense of the suffering of people is the most awful way of
    doing politics and is the most covert way of doing politics.
        Senator Rubio. As you are aware, the Treasury Department of
    the United States has imposed financial sanctions on at least
    17 Venezuelans for narcotics trafficking, including nine
    current or former Venezuelan officials. For example, in
    February, the Treasury Department imposed drug trafficking
    sanctions against the vice president of the country. There are
    also very strong allegations made by defectors and others about
    the involvement of an individual by the name of Diosdado
    Cabello who I, in my personal view based on everything I have
    seen--he is not simply a political leader. He is in my view the
    Pablo Escobar of Venezuela today. He is a narcotrafficker.
        How complicated in this political dynamic is the existence
    of this narcotrafficking presence in Venezuela to the political
    overall crisis?
        Secretary General Almagro. When you see the structure of
    government and you see the closest relatives of the
    presidential family are in jail in New York and are just in New
    York for narcotraffic, then you see that the vice president is
    the second in charge has resources for about $2 billion in the
    United States that have been sanctioned, when you see that
    number three is that the Minister of Interior Reverol is also
    accused by the DEA by narcotraffic, then you have really a
    serious problem because it looks like the whole structure is
    taken by narcotraffic.
        So it is not how you move out of--how you push the
    dictatorship out and bring back democracy. It is also now how
    you dismantle narcotraffic from the state, and that is a
    completely new challenge for our organization and for our
    community. That is a very serious problem like corruption is a
    very serious problem.
        Venezuela is the most corrupt country in the continent.
    That in itself shows that nobody is judged by corruption in the
    country. The only way to judge them--it is international like
    the cases that involved corruption of PDVSA in Houston. So to
    attack these issues definitely is an imperative in all our
    country to apply sanctions that can help solutions in this
    field are extremely necessary.
        Senator Rubio. And my final question, at least for this
    round, because Senator Kaine has joined us as well, and I want
    to make sure multiple members have a chance to speak to you
    about this topic, is the following.
        It is our natural inclination as a nation and as a people
    and in the region, as is your job working a multinational
    forum, to seek for there to be a negotiated process forward. In
    this perfect world, the Maduro regime would realize that this
    is unsustainable and there would be some sort of conversation,
    a serious one, about holding elections for governor, holding
    elections for president, freeing political prisoners, and
    creating that space. However, while I am not against that
    happening, I do not believe it is going to happen, and there is
    no indication that it is going to happen.
        I would ask you to give us some insight into your views on
    negotiations, not in general, but as it pertains to Venezuela
    and, in particular, how the Maduro regime has used the ruse of
    dialogue and negotiation to buy time and divide the opposition
    and extend itself and perpetuate itself in power.
        Secretary General Almagro. Yes. We have seen that, and we
    have denounced that.

        The way that the government uses dialogue is just to
    achieve two things mainly: to release internal pressure and to
    release international pressure. That happened in the first week
    of November last year. There were not a single commitment to
    deal with the agenda that is necessary to resolve in Venezuela.

        In fact, in Venezuela, we do not call for free general
    elections. If we do not free the political prisoners, if we do
    not establish the constitutional powers to the different
    branches of government, then no solution is possible. We can go
    around that agenda as much as we can, but there will not be a
    solution. The government so far has not been able to push for a
    solution like that.

        And it is very clear that the main task--and we saw it last
    year during the procedure of the recall referendum. We see it
    this year again--is how they remain in power, no matter what.
    Imagine that in any country in the continent could be
    demonstrations and 100 demonstrators were killed anywhere--
    anywhere--that government would not be standing anymore. It is
    against the basic rules of democracy and human rights.

        The government, when they cannot use this tool of dialogue,
    they just go to repression. And then they try to move back to
    create some conditions of a dialogue without facing the real
    agenda of the country.

        I think these days--you know, when the real negotiation to
    put down a dictatorship happens, it is because the dictators
    come and say, look, how is the best way we get out. And that is
    how it starts. It does not start by bringing down the National
    Constituent Assembly. It does not start trying to create side
    effects with the negotiations. You have to address the real
    agenda. So you put a date for elections. Okay, then we can have
    a dialogue. You free the political prisoners. Okay, we can have
    a dialogue. You establish the power of the National Assembly.
    Okay, we can have a dialogue. If nothing like that happens,
    then the conditions definitely are not there.

        It is awful that the people of Venezuela has been condemned
    to be killed in the street or to be submitted to the peace that
    the dictatorship provides that is a complete lack of rights.

        Senator Rubio. Well, as I turn it to the ranking member, my
    observation is when the Pope says he is no longer interested in
    continuing to participate in a dialogue because he does not
    think the Maduro government is serious about it, when the Pope
    says that, it is a pretty strong indication of how they have
    used these negotiations as a farce.

        The ranking member.

        Senator Menendez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

        Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your testimony.

        I do not often read from the written testimony of
    witnesses, but you synthesized your testimony in order for
    brevity. I think there are things here worthy of reading into
    the record.
        These are your words in your statement, and I often recite
    words such as these when I am asked by reporters about the
    interventionist elements of our views:

              The reluctance of the international community to act in
            defense of democracy has allowed the situation to deteriorate
            incrementally, but consistently, to the point where today it
            has become a full-blown humanitarian and security crisis.
              Every step of the way it has been too little and too late.
              The Democratic Charter was designed as a preventative tool.
            When it was agreed, it established a very explicit authority to
            act in every signatory state, when necessity requires,
              Venezuela signed onto the Democratic Charter, and the
            Democratic Charter calls, as you very explicitly note here,
            authority to act in every signatory state, when necessity
            requires.
              When used as intended, it can prevent or stop any backsliding
            in the regions' hard-earned democracies.
              It is true that only the people of Venezuela must solve the
            crisis in their country. However, in Venezuela, the words of
            civilians are met with the weapons of the Regime.
              The people of Venezuela peacefully took to the streets in
            defense of their fundamental rights and freedoms. The Regime
            responded strategically and systematically, targeting an
            unarmed, civilian population with violence and terror.
              More than 100 people have been killed since the protests
            began. That is close to one person each day.
              Of those killed, more than 30 were under the age of 21; 24
            were students; 14 were teenagers.
              Since the protests began, more than 450 investigations into
            human rights violations have been opened. Civil society
            estimates that the number of civilians injured is above 15,000.
              As of July 12, there are 444 political prisoners in
            Venezuela; the highest number since the military dictatorship
            of Marcos Perez Jimenez.
              These statistics do not include the thousands of lives lost
            in the humanitarian crisis.
              * * * * * * *

              The Regime has consistently rejected any and all offers of
            international humanitarian assistance. Instead, they have
            weaponized what little resources they do have, selecting who
            gets what. President Maduro, his cabinet, and his military
            leaders have blood on their hands and they must be held
            accountable.

        Those are not the views of some members of the United
    States Senate or the statements of some members. It is the view
    of many of us, but it is a statement of the Secretary General
    of the OAS. And it is a powerful statement. And it is so sad in
    a country that has enormous human capital and tremendous
    potential.
        So, Mr. Secretary, [Spanish spoken]. I really appreciate--
    you know, it is very often that in diplomacy we mitigate what
    is clearly the harsh in the light of day cannot be mitigated.
    And I appreciate your straightforwardness.
        I want to ask you--and I do not subscribe this as a
    personal failure. Institutionally I am trying to understand.
        In June, the OAS failed to garner the 23 votes necessary in
    favor of a resolution on Venezuela that was introduced by Peru.
        This is not an official sheet, so I may be wrong, and I
    will stand corrected. But I am going to read from what was a
    photograph of a sheet of who voted how. So here are the people
    who abstained: Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador, El Salvador,
    Grenada, Haiti, Republica Dominicana, Suriname, Trinidad and
    Tobago. And then the people who voted outright no: Bolivia,
    Dominica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent
    and the Grenadines.
        Why do you think that you could not achieve 23 votes in
    what is so clear? I mean, your statement is so clear, so
    unambiguous, so powerful. Why do you think that countries in
    the face of that would abstain and/or outright vote no?
        Secretary General Almagro. Because countries vote because
    of their interests and not because of principles and values
    always. They have strong economic, political, social links with
    the Government of Venezuela, and those links they definitely
    value a lot, enough not to vote against Venezuela in those
    circumstances.
        In any case, I have to say that the importance of that
    resolution was to create a group of friends in order to deal
    with the Venezuelan case. The past 2 weeks before that, it
    happened that there were something like eight or nine
    initiatives of a group of friends, mediators, and facilitators
    for the Venezuelan crisis. So that solution could have helped
    in Venezuela I think. In fact, I do not think the government
    would have accepted that way of negotiating.
        In any case, we have to keep working on those votes and we
    have to keep making evident what is going on in Venezuela. And
    the situation is clear enough, but also we have to say it
    around. We have to be loud about. And I think it also would be
    extremely useful, as I said before, that this group of friends
    in any case can start working and they can start working on the
    level of presidents and can make joint declarations. In fact,
    the biggest countries, those with the biggest GDP, the biggest
    populations--they were there in that consultation concerned
    about the situation in Venezuela. So it is possible to do it
    and to implement it and to create that group of friends at that
    level of president and to make it work and to have a loud voice
    about what is going on in Venezuela.
        Senator Menendez. Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce
    for the record all of the names of the countries that did vote
    in favor. And for the interest of time, I have not mentioned
    them all because they should be applauded. But I do think it is
    important to name and shame those who, in essence, voted to
    allow a continuing--that is the way I look at the vote. If you
    abstain or you vote no, in the midst of what is clearly a
    violation of the Democratic Charter of the OAS, which you are a
    party and signatory to, then you are, in essence, permitting
    it.
        The last question. I have many other questions, but I will
    cease because of my colleague here who is waiting.
        Do you believe that--I look at all of the Caribbean
    countries. So many of them voted either to abstain or no. Do
    you believe that in fact Petrocaribe and its influence have
    influence on some of the voting patterns here without
    specifying any specific country?
        Secretary General Almagro. There is something that makes
    this case very particular, and it is that we are dealing with a
    big country that has fallen into dictatorship. That is
    something that the Organization usually did not do. Usually
    what we in the Organization, in general, international
    organizations are small countries with small populations that
    have a significant coup d'etat and then the action comes. When
    we have seen this process of Venezuela, we see that these kind
    of problems happened in the past.
        I mean, I can quote, for example, the case of the mission
    that observed elections where Fujimori made the fraud. And that
    Permanent Council, those days, did not approve the report of
    the mission and supported Fujimori. The countries that were
    sitting there supported Fujimori in that case. So it is not the
    first time that happens that it is difficult to collect the
    votes of countries that they just do not want to vote against
    their national interest or their political interest.
        So we have to keep working. And the principles are there.
    The values are there. And we may be able to keep convincing
    people and keep convincing countries. We have convinced a lot
    of public opinion. We have taken the impunity away from the
    government, and we keep pushing. If we see the process since
    the 31st of May when I presented my first report to now, when I
    presented my first report, I was practically alone talking
    about political prisoners in Venezuela, talking about the needs
    to implement the recall referendum that was the institutional
    solution of the country, and of course, to stop stripping the
    powers of the National Assembly. If we see me myself alone
    there and now we have 20 votes in Cancun, we have improved a
    lot.
        And I think if you ask me, I support the decisions of the
    countries that went through the process of consultation meeting
    of minister of foreign affairs, but the rules of the meetings
    of minister of foreign affairs is that the decision have to be
    approved by two-thirds of the member states. If we would have
    gone through the application of the Inter-American Democratic
    Charter, we should have just needed a simple majority, and that
    I think was the problem, more the procedure than the number of
    votes.
        Senator Menendez. Thank you.
        Senator Rubio. And the ranking member has entered into the
    record, without objection, a portion of your statement that he
    read. He also entered the name of the 20 countries, and that of
    course will be entered into the record without objection.

        [The information referred to above was not available when
    this hearing was printed.] List of countries voting in
    favor of Venezuela resolution deg.

        Senator Rubio. And I would just note for the record that
    those countries, those 20 countries, represent a billion
    people, and 90 percent of the population of the member states
    are represented in those 20 countries.
        With the Senator from Virginia's indulgence, I just want to
    go ahead and put some things on the record. I do not want to
    forget.
        I am going to ask that three reports that you presented to
    the Permanent Council, Secretary General, of the OAS on the
    situation in Venezuela be entered into the record as part of
    the statement. The first two reports lay out the deterioration
    of the humanitarian situation, as well as the complete
    alteration of the constitution on democratic order. They also
    represent a series of recommendations that offer guidance for
    the international community.
        The third report was released this week. It details the
    strategic and systematic violent repression targeting the
    unarmed civilian population in Venezuela.
        And in addition, I also ask that the Permanent Council
    Resolution 1078 recognizing the alteration of the
    constitutional order be entered into the record.
        And finally--this is interesting--a report from the Office
    of the Attorney General of the Bolivarian Republic of
    Venezuela, meaning the Attorney General of theoretically the
    Maduro regime itself, released a report on July 10th detailing
    the 92 deaths of demonstrators at the hands of Venezuelan
    security forces during the first 100 days. And I ask and,
    without objection, it will be entered into the record.

        [The information referred to is located at the end of this
    transcript.]

        Senator Rubio. Senator Kaine?
        Senator Kaine. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        And thank you, Mr. Secretary General. This is a very
    important hearing, and I think we are all in agreement on the
    diagnosis and we are looking for the prescription [Spanish
    spoken].
        And one of the questions I want to ask to follow up on
    Senator Menendez's question is this: the vote in Cancun. You
    started in a lonely position, as you say, and then in Cancun,
    20 votes. What would the effect have been in your estimation if
    the vote in Cancun had followed this referendum, 7.2 million
    Venezuelans turning out in the referendum and overwhelmingly
    rejecting the prospect of a dramatic rewrite by the Maduro
    Government of the constitution? Do you think there are
    abstentions or no votes, within that Cancun vote, that seeing
    this significant turnout and the significant will of these
    voters, might rethink their position, or do you think if we had
    this Cancun vote, it would likely come out the same? I am
    curious.
        Secretary General Almagro. This is not so easy to speculate
    about votes in international organizations. It will depend on
    the circumstance. It will depend a lot on the words that we use
    for the resolutions that we are planning to instrument.
        The thing is, in any case, that I am extremely positive
    about the 20 votes, and I am extremely positive about how loud
    the minister of foreign affairs were during the General
    Assembly in Cancun. I think all those are very positive actions
    that happened in Cancun. It was not at all a failure. I would
    not describe it like that, not in the wildest dreams.
        Senator Kaine. Let me ask it this way if I could. What
    would you predict--setting aside voting in the OAS, what would
    you predict would be the follow-on consequence of this
    referendum vote, which was so strong? Do you think it will have
    any affect on the situation going forward, or is the Government
    just going to say we do not care about it and will it then sink
    back en silencio?
        Secretary General Almagro. The government did not like it
    but showed something very positive: the extraordinary capacity
    of organization on mobilization of the opposition and the
    National Assembly. We have to see the positive of what went on
    there. The government is not ready yet to respond in a positive
    way to that consultation that was done. Those questions that
    were asked, the way that people answered are mandatory for all
    of us, and we should take it as mandatory for all of us, are
    mandatory, in fact, for the president of the Bolivarian
    Republic of Venezuela, and he should be implementing this
    measure now. But that is not the logic of the government.
        The logic of the government is keep playing games or will
    find somebody that will keep playing games with them. And if
    playing the game does not work like Senator Rubio said, then
    will come more repression on the country. How long they can
    hold that repression I do not know. But the scenarios that we
    see are very ugly for Venezuela, are awful for Venezuela.
        Senator Kaine. Let me switch to another topic that is
    related. The Attorney General Luisa Ortega had been a loyalist
    and ally of the Maduro regime, but in March of this year, as
    you described, she spoke against an attempt by the Supreme
    Court to strip the National Assembly of powers, and she has
    since been critical of President Maduro for creating, ``a
    climate of terror.'' The Supreme Court has banned her from
    leaving the country and frozen all of her assets.
        How significant is her decision to break with the regime?
    And would you see additional prospects or think there would be
    additional prospects for key defectors from the regime, people
    who have been allies to defect and become opponents in the near
    future?
        Secretary General Almagro. I mean, we have also to see that
    a substantial part of the Chaveista had democratic rules, and a
    lot of them--they believe in democracy. And the permanent
    electoral exercise that Venezuela did during the years of
    Chavez, of course, came to an end because mainly dictators--
    they like elections when they are going to win them. If not,
    they are not useful for them.
        Senator Kaine. I have been on the side of a losing election
    recently. I like elections I am going to win too. [Laughter.]
        Senator Kaine. That is not just dictators.
        Senator Rubio. Well, I won and lost one in the same year.
    Try that. [Laughter.]
        Secretary General Almagro. But that is a very good thing
    and talks very well of you and of the system.
        And, of course, more people have moved. Former Minister of
    Interior Miguel Rodriguez del Toro has moved. You know there
    are something like about 100 officers of the military, of the
    army that are in jail. So there are a lot of cracks in that
    organization. So somehow we expect more people may come to the
    sides of democracy at the end of the day.
        Senator Kaine. Let me ask one other question. I was pleased
    to see the Trump administration state that they are looking at
    new sanctions against Venezuela, especially if they were to go
    through with the Government's plan to try to do a dramatic
    rewrite of laws and the constitution. Your testimony talked
    about sanctions as having a significant and salutary impact,
    and it is imperative that sanctions do not worsen the suffering
    of the Venezuelan people. But, however, targeted sanctions that
    hold those criminals responsible for the crisis and repression
    to account have been helpful.
        The news reports that I have read in ``Bloomberg'' suggest
    that the administration is definitely looking at targeted
    sanctions against key individuals, but also there is some
    suggestion there is tension inside the White House about which
    measures to adopt and whether to wait to see how Venezuela's
    constitutional issue plays out. Among the measures creating
    division is whether to impose some sort of ban on crude oil
    imports from Venezuela. What opinion would you have of that,
    just to give us your thought and perspective about how that
    might help or hurt the situation?
        Secretary General Almagro. You know, dictatorships stay
    only if they are pushed within the country, from inside the
    country. Unless you bomb them--and that is not the solution
    definitely--there is no way to push a dictatorship down from
    abroad. So sanctions may work and may not work. It depends of
    the internal pressure in the country.
        For example, there are sanctions that have worked, those
    against the apartheid in South Africa. They worked and at the
    end there were democracy in South Africa. But the whole country
    was committed to have democracy and to have one man, one vote.
        There are cases where these sanctions have not worked
    because the internal pressure was not enough to bring the
    dictatorship down like the Cuban case, for example.
        So at the end of the day, the most dramatic measure that
    can be taken are sanctions, but those sanctions have to be in
    order to back the people, in order to regain democracy. But it
    depends of the people of the country, and it will depend on the
    Venezuelans and their struggle to be able to achieve this
    solution. I think sanctions should be supportive of the
    Venezuelan people. I think sanctions should farther come and
    should have farther economic pressure on the Maduro
    dictatorship.
        Senator Kaine. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Senator Rubio. The Senator from Colorado.
        Senator Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        And thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here today.
        I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman last
    night from Colombia. He grew up in Colombia. He lives in the
    United States now. And he was talking about when they were
    children, if they wanted goods, if they wanted certain fresh
    products or produce, they would go to Venezuela, and they would
    have access to the goods, the produce that they could not get
    in Colombia. And he talked about the excitement they had in the
    family, when they were looking for that, to bring it home. And,
    of course, now what is happening in Venezuela is truly tragic
    because that is certainly not the case today.
        I want to get a little bit into some of the global policies
    affecting Venezuela as well. According to a report from
    Brookings Institute, on May 8, 2017, China--banks in China lent
    about $118 billion to Latin America between 2007 and 2014.
    During this time period, about 53 percent went to Venezuela. It
    is about $63 billion to Venezuela from Chinese banks.
        So could you talk a little bit about the extent of Chinese
    involvement in Venezuela, whether it is helping to prop up the
    Maduro government? Your perspective.
        Secretary General Almagro. Thank you very much.
        I can talk a little, of course. There are Chinese economic
    interests in Venezuela. Of course, I am sure China would like
    to have those interests completely safe, and that means that
    they will deal with the political situation in an objective
    manner.
        I think the interests there were mainly in projects of
    infrastructure. There were a lot of trade, and of course, there
    are big interests in energy. And those interests will remain
    there. And I think they do not have a strong connection with
    the institutional situation of the country. The institutional
    situation of the country--it happened in parallel to that and
    were not affected by this relation with China.
        Senator Gardner. Thank you.
        And with that investment infrastructure or otherwise, what
    type of leverage does China hold in Venezuela, and could the
    U.S. work with them to find a solution there?
        Secretary General Almagro. Mainly there were investments in
    the industrial sector. There were investments in the oil
    exploration, exploitation. There were investments in
    infrastructure, roads and ports and such for energy. So mainly
    those were the business I remember. So I think also there was
    some financial agreements, of course, the exchange of oil.
    There were a big joint commission, but that is like a normal
    bilateral relation, let us say.
        Senator Gardner. So in your opinion, the U.S. should not be
    concerned about Chinese financing of the Venezuelan Government?
        Secretary General Almagro. I do not think we should have a
    concern about that, and I think those agreements were done in
    good faith by the Chinese Government. And of course, a new
    Venezuelan Government should be able to reformulate them as
    possible in any agreement with China.
        Senator Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Rubio. And just for a point of clarity on it--and I
    am going off the Congressional Research Service here. First of
    all, let us just describe the situation in Venezuela today. By
    estimates, Venezuela has international reserves of
    approximately $10 billion according to this report, but its
    financing needs for 2017 are $17 billion. So they got a $7
    billion hole at minimum. So they are taking extraordinary
    measures to repay creditors and unusual steps to raise cash.
        For example, it has turned to loans to China and to Russia.
    These loans are paid with oil deliveries. So they are, in
    essence, taking the oil that belongs to the people of Venezuela
    and selling it at a discount to China or giving it to China and
    Russia at a discount in exchange for the cash, and even there,
    they have fallen behind on the arrangements.
        And, of course, the well-reported sale of $2.8 billion in
    bonds issued by the state-run oil entity that was sold to
    Goldman Sachs for $865 million. So $2.8 billion of bonds in
    exchange for $865 million in cash. They are now also attempting
    to sell $5 billion in bonds issued in December at a steep
    discount.
        So one of the things that people do not realize is what the
    regime has done is they have taken oil, which belongs to the
    people of Venezuela. Instead of selling it at market price,
    they are using it as payment in exchange for funds. And in the
    case of Russia, Russia has even taken a 49.5 percent stake in
    CITGO, which is an American subsidiary of the state-run entity.
    They own multiple pipelines and refineries in the United States
    of America.
        They are also engaged in the same sort of trade with Cuba
    where they pay the Cubans in oil in exchange for doctors and
    other services such as intelligence and repressive advisory
    services, which Cuba is one of the few countries in the world
    that offers that as a service as they teach you how to repress
    your people.
        And that is the question that I wanted to get to in my
    second round here. We have not spoken about it. Not enough
    attention has been paid to it. I am not sure that people are
    fully aware of the extent to which the Cuban Government is
    deeply entrenched in the security apparatus of the Venezuelan
    Government. And we have seen the reports that they are deeply
    entrenched and control everything from passports and travel
    documents to the personal security of Chavez and now Maduro and
    others.
        And certainly their hand is visible in all of these
    measures that are being taken, including the release of
    Leopoldo Lopez to his home. He is not released. He is on house
    arrest. We are very happy he is with his family and his wife.
    He should not be detained at all. But it is a very typical
    Cuban Government move where they release someone into house
    arrest, but they are still not free and able to operate.
        We have not discussed the role of Cuba providing assistance
    to the Venezuelan Maduro Government. I know they have other
    allies in the region, but Cuba is a critical ally.
        I guess I will ask you, in the way you deem appropriate, if
    you could describe the role that Cuba plays in sustaining the
    Maduro operations that we see today.
        Secretary General Almagro. First of all, we have to say
    that everybody is taking profits of this weak Venezuelan
    Government, weak in the sense that they do not have the
    economic and financial possibilities that they had in the past.
    So if we see any agreement that they have done, they have given
    away a lot of these resources of the people. Every negotiation
    have given away a lot of these resources of the people. And
    everybody is taking profit of that, even Goldman Sachs as we
    have seen. They bought bonds for 30 percent of their values.
    That is like taking advantage of somebody that just needs money
    in order to stay alive. The same kind of agreements happen all
    the time.
        Cuba has been there longer, has taken more profit than any
    other country of the region. If we see, the Cuban involvement
    is a serious one, and I think the Cuban management is like the
    worst advice that can exist in Venezuela these days.
        The Cubans passed a special period in the early 1990s. They
    passed it without energy, cash, or possibility to import food.
    And so, more or less, they are saying to Venezuelans, look, at
    your conditions. You have energy. You have cash. You can import
    some food in order to implement the CLAP bags. So this logic to
    sustain yourself through the repression is Cuban logic. You
    just keep repressing and keep repressing and you just stay in
    power because of that.
        If we see, they are practically everywhere. There are at
    least 15,000 Cubans in Venezuela. The colonial occupation army
    of Spain had 22,000 people. So this is like an occupation army
    that exists of Cuba in Venezuela. And, of course, they are not
    ready to leave this very profitable relation and they are not
    ready to leave behind a regime that is sustaining this
    relationship. And so that is one of the biggest problems that
    we have.
        Senator Rubio. I am looking forward in your statement. I
    know I saw it somewhere. You discussed--but here are some of
    the things, again from the Congressional Research Center. A
    2016 national survey released in March of this year found that
    27 percent of the people in Venezuela eat only once a day. 93.3
    percent of households lack enough income to purchase food. I
    believe I saw it in your statement or somewhere else about the
    amount of weight that Venezuelans have lost in the last year.
    Am I correct?
        Secretary General Almagro. Yes.
        Senator Rubio. What was the number?
        Secretary General Almagro. From 8 to 10 kilograms on
    average they lost during last year.
        Senator Rubio. So that is 19 pounds.
        Secretary General Almagro. Yes.
        Senator Rubio. So the average Venezuelan has lost 18 to 19
    pounds in the last year because of hunger.
        Secretary General Almagro. Two sizes smaller.
        Senator Rubio. Well, I saw a recent video of Nicolas Maduro
    and Diosdado Cabello. They have not lost any weight.
    [Laughter.]
        Secretary General Almagro. No. We have improved a lot.
        Senator Rubio. In fact, I have not seen any weight loss
    among virtually anyone at senior levels of the government.
        Secretary General Almagro. This is something that the
    people are suffering. People are suffering these shortages.
    Their children usually are abroad in Europe or here in North
    America. They do not run in the same conditions as the rest of
    their people.
        Senator Rubio. Well, the last point you raise in your
    testimony had to do, I believe, with infant mortality, and you
    compared it to the infant mortality rate in another country.
    And I am searching for it now, but I think, if I am not
    mistaken, you state in your testimony in 2016, seven children
    died each day before reaching the age of 1. There are better
    survival rates for newborns in Syria. Does that, in your
    recollection, remain an accurate assessment? In Syria. The
    survival rate of newborns is better in Syria than it is in
    Venezuela under the Maduro regime.
        Secretary General Almagro. Yes.
        Senator Rubio. And for the record, there is no U.S. embargo
    against Venezuela or any embargo from anyone. The only embargo
    on the people of Venezuela is self-imposed by the Maduro
    regime.
        Secretary General Almagro. Yes. But it is what I said in my
    presentation. The money of the resources that belong to the
    people--they just go to kill the people, torture the people,
    and nothing is provided to them. So any sanction in Venezuela
    will not worsen the situation of the people at all.
        Senator Rubio. The ranking member.
        Senator Menendez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Secretary, again thank you for your testimony, for your
    insights, for your leadership.
        Mr. Chairman, I hope that we can think about some other
    possibilities here. For example, it seems to me that if those
    who invest in PDVSA, which seems to be the cash cow for the
    regime, ultimately know that their stock, for example, that the
    Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will look
    seriously about whether or not such an investment, particularly
    in critical infrastructure of the United States, in energy
    would not be permitted, that it would reduce the value of
    PDVSA's engagement. It would reduce the allure of those both in
    the private sector and governmentally who are looking at PDVSA
    and taking shares.
        I look at the countries that I named earlier, and whether
    it is a Millennium Challenge account that we have had or
    whether it is a series of our other aid, I mean, peaceful
    diplomacy is a combination of the use of your aid, your trade,
    and of course, the denial of aid or trade in a pejorative way
    to get countries to move in a direction that is in their
    national interests.
        I really believe that the dramatic testimony of the
    Secretary General about what is happening in Venezuela, which I
    largely knew, but it has been dramatized by his testimony, and
    the incredible importance of Venezuela, the country, its size,
    its energy, its people in the midst of Latin America is a
    national security question of the United States. What happens
    if people massively seek to flee? What happens with the
    questions of illicit narcotic flows and the use of money
    laundering and a whole host of other things?
        So I would hope that we would urge the State Department to
    use all the tools of foreign diplomacy and the administration,
    which has seemed predisposed to seeking to do things, to look
    at a wide variety of things, CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign
    Investment, the use of our aid, the use of our trade, the
    denial of such because as the Secretary said, at every step in
    this crisis, it has always been too little too late. I do not
    think that we can afford to continue too little too late on
    behalf of the people of Venezuela or for that fact in our own
    national security interest.
        Senator Rubio. And just to echo the ranking member's
    comments--first, let me add this. We did not get a chance to
    get to it today, but I would remind those watching here in the
    United States that we should not forget the case of an American
    citizen from Utah named Joshua Holt. He is an innocent American
    who has been unjustly detained in Venezuelan jails now for over
    a year caught up in the middle of all this crisis with absurd
    and ridiculous accusations.
        On the ranking member's point, I have said this in the past
    and people took it as a threat. It is not a threat. It is an
    honest observation about the state of affairs. I do not think
    you need to be a daily watcher of the news and politics to
    understand there is a vibrant debate in the United States about
    how much money this Nation should be investing in foreign aid.
    And I have long been a supporter, as has the ranking member,
    for U.S. engagement in the world and in the region. But we have
    a debate about how much money the United States should be
    investing.
        And I can tell you it is a debate that becomes very
    difficult when the debate is about investing money in nations
    that are our partners under the guise of we want to support
    them because they are democracies when these nations and the
    only international forum in the region designed to defend
    democracy are unwilling to do so for whatever the reasons may
    be. Maybe some of them have been involved in illicit activity
    that they do not want to be outed on and blackmailed by the
    Venezuelan regime. Perhaps others have an ideological affinity,
    whatever it might be. It is difficult, not a threat. I am just
    being honest. It is a difficult as a U.S. policymaker to turn
    to my colleagues from all across the country and argue that we
    should be funding millions of dollars of aid to countries who
    then turn around and support this, not support this militarily,
    not support this economically, supported it with a vote at the
    organism in the region designed to defend democracy.
        I do not understand how you can claim to be a democracy if
    you are not willing to support it at an international organism
    like the OAS. And that is just a fact. And that is going to be
    part of the debate in the months and weeks to come. Foreign aid
    is not charity. We do it because it defends our values as a
    Nation, and we do it because it is in our national interests.
    So I say that.
        On the issue of these companies, the ranking member is
    absolutely right. Most Americans do not realize that if
    Venezuela defaults, CITGO is going to be owned by a Russian
    entity. And CITGO is a U.S. subsidiary that has pipelines. It
    has refinery operations in multiple States. I am going to take
    a wild guess that that will not be very popular here in the
    United States of America or here in the United States Congress,
    given recent events. I do not think that is going to happen.
        And so I think if you are Vladimir Putin and his good
    friend who runs and owns that company and operates it for the
    benefit of their corrupt cronies over there, you just realize
    you own 49.5 percent of bad debt because the only way you are
    ever going to get your debt repaid is a functional society in a
    country that operates and has an economy, not this disaster.
        As far as the Chinese are concerned, I am sure they would
    like to have more reach in the Western Hemisphere, but I can
    tell you what their number one concern is: they want to get
    paid back. They paid for this oil at a discount. They got a
    good deal. They expect to get the oil. And if they do not get
    the oil, it will be humiliating--humiliating--to the Chinese
    Government that made this bad loan where they gave all this
    cash in exchange for oil and they are not going to get it.
        And my message to the Chinese Government is these guys will
    never be able to pay you back. This is a dysfunctional narco
    state that is in a death spiral in terms of its ability to
    function. If you want to get paid back on your debt, the best
    thing that could happen for China is for a functional nation
    state that restores democracy and has an economy that works and
    can actually produce oil again because the oil does not
    magically produce itself. You have to have people willing to
    show up to work and people that know what they are doing.
        But this is what happens to an oil industry when all of
    your buddies and friends that know nothing about the industry
    get put in charge of it. And that is what has happened here. It
    became a piggybank for everybody.
        And the third point is on those in Wall Street that are
    thinking about it, the reputational damage of those who bail
    out Venezuela is going to be extraordinary. All this stuff is
    being documented as much as anywhere in the world. The list is
    extensive of people that have been jailed and oppressed. And I
    know that there are some good deals to be had in their minds in
    terms of the balance sheet, but I can tell you that whether
    they are a large multinational entity or a hedge fund looking
    to make a quick buck, the reputational damage of lending money
    to this regime will be extraordinary. It is not a threat. It is
    a promise that I intend to talk about you if you do it. And
    people will know it, and we will see what that means in the
    short and long term.
        So this is a distressing situation. We are 13 or 12 days
    away from what I think will be, if it happens, a tragic and
    unacceptable outcome in our own hemisphere. As I said at the
    outset, it will be the first time in almost 4 decades that you
    have a formal structural abandonment of democracy in exchange
    for a Cuban-style dictatorship, perhaps even worse in some ways
    if that is even possible. And I just do not know how that is
    going to go over very well. And I hope we can get more of our
    colleagues interested in this topic because my bigger fear on
    this side of the equation, meaning as policymakers in the
    United States, is this is a very serious situation that could
    lead to all sorts of destabilizing effects in the region,
    including mass migration problems beyond what we have already
    seen now, a deep, endemic humanitarian crisis and, God forbid,
    violence probably initiated by the regime. And it could come
    upon us very quickly here if we are not prepared to address it.
        I believe from everything I have seen and heard and talked
    about with them that the U.S. administration not only wants to
    address it and be serious but is looking for partners in the
    hemisphere to work with, hopefully through the OAS or perhaps
    as a group of friends through the OAS. But July 30th will not
    come and go with a press release. Of that, I am 100 percent
    confident.
        I thank you for being here today. I know how busy you are,
    how much time you spent on this. By the way, for those who do
    not know, you have been the subject of extraordinary personal
    attacks by the Maduro regime and the other thugs that surround
    them. I know it does not necessarily matter to you directly but
    your efforts have been noticed there, and I think anyone who
    they attack, I think that is a badge of honor. And so I just
    thank you for the efforts. They have been extraordinary, and we
    hear that from everyone everywhere.
        And you say you were alone when you started. It is true.
    There is no way we would be at 20 votes without your leadership
    on this topic. I am convinced that that number will grow in the
    weeks to come.
        So thank you so much. We are honored that you came here
    today.
        Secretary General Almagro. Thank you.
        Senator Rubio. And with that, I thank everyone for being
    here.
        The record will remain open for 48 hours. I intend to
    submit additional questions for the record. We will get them to
    your office. We will work out a process to make sure they are
    part of our record.
        And with that, our hearing is adjourned.

        [Whereupon, at 5:37 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                                  ----------

    Prepared Statement Submitted by Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the
                        Organization of American States

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                  Additional Material Submitted for the Record

      Statement for the Record Submitted by Carlos Vecchio, LLM and MPA,
       National Political Coordinator of Voluntad Popular (Popular Will,
          opposition political party, member of the Unitary Alliance)

        Thank you Chairman Rubio, Ranking Member Senator Bob Menendez and
    members of the committee, for inviting me to submit a written testimony
    before you today.
        It has not been easy for me to get where I am today. I find myself
    doing what I have never been able to do in my own country; to present
    before an independent, public institution and give my testimony. I have
    experienced the political persecution imposed by the reigning
    dictatorship of Venezuela first hand. In 2014, after I had called for
    peaceful protests for the rights of the Venezuelan people, the Maduro
    administration decided to file a warrant for my arrest for political
    reasons. This was done five days after filing the arrest warrant for
    Leopoldo L"pez, my party leader. I went into hiding for over 100 days.
    They were unable to capture me. After that I decided to leave the
    country in order to be able to denounce the injustices in Venezuela
    internationally.
        I have come here in order to reaffirm what you yourselves have
    indicated in various resolutions approved by the United States
    Congress. There is no democracy in Venezuela. There is a dictatorship.
    A corrupt dictatorship that has driven my country into the worst
    historic crisis that we have seen since the twentieth century.
        From a political perspective, the elections in Venezuela have been
    suspended. In 2016 Nicol s Maduro chose to disregard the recall
    referendum that had been signed and activated by the signatures of over
    four hundred thousand Venezuelans. Venezuelan regional elections are
    behind schedule. There are over 400 political prisoners, something that
    is incompatible with the very concept of democracy. Separation of
    powers is non existent. I want to especially highlight the use of the
    Supreme Court under Maduro's control in their de facto dissolving of
    the Venezuelan National Assembly. From an economic perspective, the
    regime has been an unprecedented catastrophe. Our gross domestic
    product has gone down by almost 24% in the last three years. We have
    the highest inflation rate in the world, nearing 1,000%. From a social
    perspective, we have become one of the most violent countries in the
    world, as well as having an 80% poverty rate according to the latest
    study from the best universities in Venezuela.
        We have been protesting for over 100 days in an attempt to
    reestablish constitutional order in Venezuela. In the course of these
    protests more than 90 people have lost their lives, thousands have been
    arrested illegally, and there have been countless wounded. The Maduro
    administration no longer has the support of the people. More than 80%
    have rejected his platform. Maduro insists on using repression and
    terror in order to remain in power, following Cuba's lead. He has
    proposed a fraudulent constitutional assembly in order to remain in
    power despite not having the support of the people. This aggravates the
    crisis even further.
        On July 16, within the framework of these protests, the opposition
    carried out a referendum to gain popular support for our fight. It was
    entirely a grass-roots process, since it was done without the
    assistance of any Venezuelan public authority. More than7.6million
    Venezuelans took part. If the recall election had taken place on that
    day, Maduro's mandate would have been revoked. This level of
    participation sends a clear message to the country and the world that
    we want to reestablish constitutional order in Venezuela in a peaceful,
    and democratic fashion. For over 100 days, these millions of
    Venezuelans showed up for peaceful protests, to declare their
    indignation in the face of economic and social chaos, to demand liberty
    for political prisoners, and to put an end to the fraudulent
    constituent assembly.
        Maduro has sought to manipulate the international community with
    his proposed constituency, as he would if their formation had come
    about from something resembling a legitimate election. Even if Maduro
    has the prerogative to activate a constitutional assembly process, it
    would still need to be approved by the people by way of a referendum.
    This is the step that Maduro does not want to comply with. He does not
    want to ask the people if they want to change the constitution, and
    it's because he does not have the support of the people. As a matter of
    fact, not even the candidate selection process respects universal
    voting rights, something enshrined in the constitution, since Maduro
    has arbitrarily divided the population into groups (workers, farmers,
    etc), deciding for himself who gets to represent them and who gets to
    elect them. In this way, when determining the number of members in the
    assembly, the populations of each group are not taken into account.
    This is why we declare that this constituency is a fraud, as it does
    not respect the constitution, or democratic principles.
        The international community needs to put pressure on them in order
    to force an effective negotiation, and they should be more stringent
    this time, recalling the failed dialogues of 2016, which the United
    States were involved in. At this time it is not enough to remove the
    fraudulent constituent assembly, as this would leave us back at square
    one with protests. In order to restore constitutional order we need: i)
    General elections with the presence of international observers, ii) The
    swift liberation of all political prisoners and anyone imprisoned
    arbitrarily and without due process, iii) Restore the full
    constitutional competencies of the National Assembly, and iv) Support
    for a humanitarian aid fund.
        It is important to keep in mind that there is an irreversible
    political change that the Maduro regime won't be able to stop. We
    should increase the pressure so that this change happens sooner rather
    than later, and with the least possible suffering of our people. Our
    conflict should be resolved by the Venezuelan people themselves,
    although the international community plays an important and stellar
    role in helping and supporting us in the reestablishment of democracy
    in Venezuela.
        Under these circumstances, it is a challenge for the U.S. to
    participate in a constructive way. Therefore, with all due respect, I
    would recommend the following steps or actions:

     1. The continued application of necessary pressure along with allies
            from neighboring countries in order to force an effective
            negotiation. This is particularly important for multilateral
            organisms such as OAS and the United Nations. In keeping with
            this line we should also seek to continue to engage the
            European Union.
     2. Continue and expand targeted sanctions against those responsible
            for human rights violations, as well as against those people
            connected to the regime who have profited through corrupt deals
            and criminal undertakings. These should also include the
            associates and families of the people involved.
     3. To the extent that the U.S. laws permit, the U.S. should release
            all evidences, accounts, and assets of the people involved in
            corrupt deals.
     4. Request not only the repeal of the fraudulent constituency, but
            also alert them immediately that no results from such an
            election will be recognized by any democratic government in the
            world. Additionally, ask other world governments to do the
            same. It should be clear that if Maduro implements his
            fraudulent constitutional assembly in any way, the United
            States will not recognize anything approved thereby.
     5. To the extent that U.S. law permits, the U.S. should prohibit the
            use of its financial system for transactions that imply further
            debts or any restructuring of existing public debts for
            Venezuela without the approval of the democratically elected
            Venezuelan National Assembly.
     6. To the extent that U.S. law permits, the U.S. should prevent oil
            and mining joint ventures associated with the Maduro regime
            that have not been approved by democratically elected
            Venezuelan National Assembly. Furthermore disseminate
            information about the risks involved with oil and mining
            companies associated with the Maduro regime. (Oil and mining
            associations require the approval of the National Assembly as
            per Venezuelan law).

                                                 Carlos Vecchio

                                   __________

                     Organization of American States (OAS)

                Report on Venezuela, Submitted by Luis Almagro,
                        Secretary General--May 30, 2016

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The report can be accessed by following the hyperlink
    below:

    http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/OSG-243.en.pdf

                     Organization of American States (OAS)

            Updated Report on Venezuela, Submitted by Luis Almagro,
                       Secretary General--March 14, 2017

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The report can be accessed by following the hyperlink
    below:

    http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/Informe-VZ-II-English-
    Final-Signed.pdf

                  Resolution on the Recent Events in Venezuela

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Balance de Victimas Fallecadas y Lesionadas Durante--Manifestaciones en
                              Abril-Julio de 2017

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                      [all]