[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 11, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3905-S3906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Venezuela

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I have, since the year 2014, come to the 
Senate floor on numerous occasions, perhaps more than I hoped to, to 
discuss the developing situation in the nation of Venezuela.
  The reason why I have taken such an interest in this issue is because 
of the impact it has, first and foremost, on my home State of Florida. 
We are blessed in Florida, particularly in my hometown of Miami and in 
South Florida, to have a vibrant and diverse community with people from 
across the world and, particularly, from the Western Hemisphere. That, 
of course, includes a very substantial number of people from Venezuela, 
some who live in Florida for part of the year and some who have made it 
their permanent home. They have contributed greatly to our economy, to 
our culture, and to our lives.
  It is through their eyes that I have witnessed the tragedy that has 
unfolded in that nation over the last 5 years. I use the word 
``tragedy,'' but I don't use it lightly. Venezuela is one of the 
richest countries in the world, blessed with natural resources that God 
has blessed that nation with and the largest crude oil reserves on the 
planet--certainly, more than the United States and Canada combined, as 
an example. They have highly educated and capable people and a long 
tradition of democracy. Venezuela has one of the oldest traditions of 
democracy in the Western Hemisphere. As much as anything else, not only 
is it a tragedy for the people of Venezuela--what has happened--but it 
is a tragedy for the hemisphere and, ultimately, for the world. We look 
at some of the great causes that the world is confronting and think 
what a democratic and prosperous Venezuela could be contributing, what 
its extraordinary people could be contributing. But the last 5 to 10 
years--particularly the last 5--have largely been taken up by internal 
strife.
  At the end of the day, my interest on the issue of Venezuela has 
never been the removal of anyone from power. It has been about the 
restoration of the democratic order so that the people of Venezuela can 
choose their path forward. We look at the history of our hemisphere, 
here in the Western Hemisphere, and we see that up until about 25 years 
ago, most of the nations in the Western Hemisphere were governed by 
dictators and strongmen on both the left and the right, and few, if 
any, people in our hemisphere had a role to play in choosing their 
leaders. Today, but for the exception of a handful of places--
predominantly, Cuba and the Caribbean and some others--almost all of 
the people of the region get to choose their leaders, and that has been 
the story of Venezuela up until very recently. Sometimes they choose 
leaders who agree with America, and sometimes they do not. But they 
choose their leaders.
  In the end, we know that democracies very rarely start wars because 
their peoples do not tolerate it. Democracies always seek stability and 
prosperity because their peoples demand it, and they get rid of leaders 
who don't deliver.
  So our goal from the beginning--my goal, in particular--has 
consistently been the restoration of the democratic order and, through 
that, the respect for basic rights and dignity of all people, 
particularly in Venezuela. It is sad to see what has happened because I 
think it is fair to say that the situation today in Venezuela is worse 
than it has been at any point since 2014.
  We saw about a week ago the horrifying images of armed thugs storming 
the National Assembly--the democratically elected National Assembly--
and attacking members of that assembly. It would be the equivalent of 
protestors storming the Capitol doors and attacking Senators and 
Congressmen. We saw images of uniformed personnel, some of whom, 
basically, are the equivalent of our Capitol Police, roughing up the 
very members of that assembly whom they are supposed to be protecting. 
We have seen the images of protests in the streets, of national guard 
troops firing on people with tear gas and rubber bullets and, in some 
instances, with guns.
  We have seen these irregular groups called ``colectivos'' going after 
people in the streets. By the way, in fairness, we have seen violence 
on both sides of it, although the vast majority of people in the 
opposition--the enormous majority--seek a peaceful resolution to this. 
Anytime you put hundreds of thousands of people in the street, chaos 
happens.
  You think not just of the protestors, but you think of their family 
members on the other side of it. We forget that these national guard 
troops, holding up their shields and wearing the uniforms, have sisters 
and brothers and husbands and wives and loved ones on the other side of 
that barricade, deeply dividing this proud nation with an incredible 
history of contributions that it has made.
  The situation has now reached what I believe is the tipping point. 
Later this month, the Government of Venezuela--I should say the 
executive branch, under its current President--has scheduled an 
unconstitutional assembly. They call it a constituent assembly. It 
violates the very Constitution of the country, not to mention that the 
supreme court has already kind of canceled the democratic order and 
this adds to that. I just say this with deep

[[Page S3906]]

sadness. If that goes forward, I think it fundamentally changes the 
situation permanently.
  I had an occasion early this morning to speak to the President on 
this topic for a few minutes, as I know he is headed overseas. He 
expressed his continued dissatisfaction with the course of events. I 
think it should be abundantly clear to everyone that this government in 
the United States is prepared to take additional significant measures 
if, in fact, that constituent assembly moves forward at the end of this 
month--basically, all but admitting to the world what we already know; 
that is, that the democratic order in Venezuela has ended.
  I do believe that there is still a path forward--a path forward that 
doesn't involve vengeance, that involves reconciliation; a path forward 
designed to restore the democratic order. I believe deeply that all of 
my colleagues here in the Senate and in the Congress and the President 
of the United States are prepared to play whatever role they can to 
help facilitate that. I think that, obviously, ultimately, it would 
involve restoring democracy. It would involve respecting its own 
Constitution. It would involve holding free and fair elections, 
internationally supervised, not by the United States but by the United 
Nations or by neighboring countries. I just left a meeting a few 
minutes ago with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, a nation that has 
shown that it is willing to step forward and be constructive and 
productive in this endeavor.
  That is the goal. The goal is to restore peace and order and to 
restore democracy and to grant amnesty and freedom to those who have 
been imprisoned because of their political views. Within that space, 
there are those within the government who themselves perhaps seek the 
same thing but feel trapped by the circumstances before the nation 
today.
  So I do believe there is a path forward, but I also think it would be 
unfair if I didn't make clear that the time for that path is running 
out and the door will permanently close if, at the end of this month, 
the Maduro government moves forward with this assembly, which is 
illegal and unconstitutional. At that point, it would be clear for all 
that they have no interest and no intent of restoring democracy. I fear 
the consequences of that, not simply because of what the U.S. 
Government and the Trump administration might do but what it would mean 
to those in the streets who are already desperate as it is.

  I do think that path is there. I do believe that opportunity is still 
available, but it will not be around forever. My hope is that cooler 
heads will prevail. My hope is that patriots in Venezuela--no matter 
what side of this debate they have been on up to this point--realize it 
is time to step up and further this process of reconciliation, not with 
a goal of vengeance or punishment but with a goal of freeing those who 
have been imprisoned unjustly, with the goal of having free and 
democratic elections, with the goal of living up to constitutional 
principles, with the goal of restoring democracy to a great people and 
a great nation.
  I know that I, for one, despite all of my criticisms and all of the 
speeches I have given and all of the measures we have taken, am 
prepared to do all I can to be helpful in that endeavor, to help the 
people of Venezuela take control of their destiny once again and 
restore the democratic order, the constitutional order in a way that 
unites the country, not one that further fragments and divides it.
  I know the President has expressed a willingness to be involved in 
that process in whatever capacity is appropriate, knowing that other 
nations in the region are prepared to lead as well.
  I thought it was important on this 11th day of July, as we get closer 
to that measure--which I think will do irreparable harm to this 
possibility--that I come here to the Senate floor and express this. In 
the end, I think all of us in this hemisphere and, ultimately, the 
world would benefit greatly from a Venezuela that fulfills its 
potential--the potential of its people, the potential of its economy, 
the potential of its proud history of democracy. Whatever we can do to 
be helpful in that endeavor, I know that this Nation is prepared to do 
in whatever capacity is appropriate in the eyes of the people of 
Venezuela.
  Ultimately, the future of Venezuela belongs to the people of 
Venezuela, and that is what we stand for. We hope that we can be 
helpful in a process that brings them together--and not further divides 
them--and restores what they once had and deserve to have again: a 
proud democracy, a vibrant economy, and a people with extraordinary and 
unlimited potential to achieve great things on behalf of their nation, 
their countrymen, and the world.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.