[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 131 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4756-S4757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               VENEZUELA

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a statement by 
Julio Andres Borges Junyent, President of the National Assembly of the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   The National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela--In 
 Rescue of the Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights: Agreement in 
 Disregard of the Fraudulents Electoral Results on July 30th, 2017 for 
   Which was Intended To Impose an Illegitimate National Constituent 
 Assembly, and in Claim of the 1999 Constitution as a Democratic Basis 
                of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela


                              CONSIDERING

       On July 30th, 2017 the regime of Nicolas Maduro, with the 
     support of the majority of rectors of the National Electoral 
     Council, judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and the high 
     dome of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, advanced on the 
     fraudulent constituent process that initiated on May 1, 2017, 
     realizing a supposed illegitimate ``election'' of such 
     illegitimate constituent members;


                              CONSIDERING

       The authorities of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces 
     have assumed the prominence in the announcements concerning 
     the electoral process, investing the constitutional principle 
     of subjection of the military civilian authorities; which is 
     a sample of the militarism they intend to impose, in 
     contravention to the enshrined civic and republican values on 
     the current Constitution of 1999;


                              CONSIDERING

       That this National Assembly has pointed out in various 
     agreements, and it was ratified by the Venezuelan people in 
     the referendum of July 16th, 2017, the National Constituent 
     Assembly is a fraudulent and illegitimate process that only 
     seeks to repeal the Constitution of 1999 by other mechanisms 
     than those provided, in order to establish in Venezuela a 
     dictatorship of totalitarian Court, in reason of which all 
     acts and processes arising from such constituent must be 
     unknown to citizens and government employees, who have the 
     duty to restore the validity of the 1999 Constitution, all 
     this, in accordance with the articles 333 and 350;


                              CONSIDERING

       The fraudulent election of July 30th sought to give 
     legitimacy to the constitutional process, despite the fact 
     that such procedure was initiated with the usurpation of the 
     popular sovereignty, which was never consulted about the 
     convocation of the constituent Assembly, as ordered by the 
     constitutional article 347;


                              CONSIDERING

       In addition, the fraudulent election of July 30th was held 
     on the sidelines of international guarantees and 
     constitutional minimum that must be presented in any 
     democratic election, which shows the high despite

[[Page S4757]]

     abstention in the irregular voting stations admitted for this 
     election, the President of the National Electoral Council 
     announced a false call participation of eight million and 
     eighty-nine thousand three hundred and twenty (8,089,320) 
     electors, making the committed fraud even more evident;


                              CONSIDERING

       The Venezuelan people, in exercise of their right to 
     resistance, made various peaceful protests during the day of 
     July 30th, 2017, with the deplorable balance of 16 people 
     killed, hundreds injured and many arrested in an arbitrary 
     manner, with the repression which the regime of Nicolas 
     Maduro has attended for trying to impose its fraudulent and 
     illegitimate National Constituent Assembly;


                              CONSIDERING

       That the international community, like countries such as 
     Argentina, Colombia, Spain, United States of America and 
     Mexico, as well as international organizations such as the 
     Organization of American States (OAS) and the European 
     Parliament, expressed their rejection on the fraudulent 
     constituent process of Nicolas Maduro's regime;


                              CONSIDERING

       That the fraudulent election of the illegitimate National 
     Constituent Assembly of July 30th, 2017, implies a major 
     change in the political and constitutional Venezuelan scene, 
     having to represent the definitive attempt of restoring the 
     dictatorship of totalitarian court protected on the figure of 
     the National Constituent Assembly, which demands the 
     articulation of effective and immediate action orientated to 
     deposing a despotic form of government, contributing to the 
     effective reestablishment of the Constitution in Venezuela, 
     in context of articles 333 and 350 of the Constitution, with 
     the democratic legitimacy derived from the popular 
     consultation on July 16th and the support of the 
     international community committed on the universal defense of 
     human rights and constitutional democracy.


                               ACCORDING

       First: Confirm that all the acts related to the National 
     Constituent Assembly including the supposed election effected 
     on July 30th, 2017 must be unrecognized because it was a 
     process based on usurpation of the popular sovereignty and of 
     the original Constituent power that belongs exclusively to 
     the people of Venezuela. Likewise, we ratify the right to the 
     resistance of the people of Venezuela against the fraudulent 
     and illegal National Constituent Assembly, as the officials 
     and members of the armed forces must do. Armed forces must 
     disobey all the acts related to the fraudulent Constituent 
     Assembly, and actively contribute to re-establish the 
     effective validity of the Constitution of 1999.
       Second: Unrecognized the election effected on July 30th, 
     2017 of the members of the fraudulent and illegal National 
     Constituent Assembly that was convened without a popular 
     referendum, and against the peoples' will and in contrivance 
     of article number 347 of the Constitution.
       Third: Reject the massacre and aberrant crimes against the 
     Venezuelans who in their legal right to freedom of 
     expression, of protesting and resisting were demonstrating 
     their rejection to the fraudulent Constituent Assembly, and 
     who were expressing solidarity to the parliamentarian body 
     with the victims of repression, arrests, and family members 
     of the deceased, and with all the Venezuelan people.
       Fourth: Ratify the mandate of the people stated in the 
     Popular Consultation on July 16th, 2017, by which, this 
     National Assembly, as a legal and exclusive representative of 
     the Venezuelan people will take all the measures and actions 
     directed to depose the National Constituent Assembly as a 
     power that is illegitimate and of fact to establish 
     effectively the validity of the constitution of the 
     Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
       Fifth: Urge the citizen Luisa Ortega Diaz, in her 
     responsibility of General Attorney of the Republic, to 
     investigate at great length the criminal acts against the 
     protesters, as well as the committed crimes that took place 
     during the organization and in the electoral process on July 
     30th, 2017, and to exercise the relevant actions against the 
     officers and people that ordered and executed such crimes, 
     with the purpose to make effective the punitive, 
     administrative, and disciplinary responsibilities of those 
     who order and executed the repressive acts against the people 
     and of those who participated in the constitutional fraud of 
     the National Constituent Assembly.
       Sixth: Urge to the Public Minister to overtake 
     investigations and formalities directed to establish the 
     penal responsibility of all public officers and people 
     evolved in the fraudulent process of the National Constituent 
     Assembly that aims to impose a change that violates the 
     constitution and changes the republican foundation of the 
     Nation.
       Seventh: Grateful for the solidarity expressed by the 
     International Community with regard to the people of 
     Venezuela and in rejection of the fraudulent National 
     Constituent Assembly, and for arranging necessary meetings to 
     execute common actions of states committed to the universal 
     defense of human rights and of the relevant International 
     Entities, so that through the admitted mechanisms of Public 
     International rights and thus contribute to depose the 
     fraudulent and illegal National Constituent Assembly and to 
     reestablish the effective validity of the Constitution of 
     1999.
       Eighth: Support to the people of Venezuela in the exercise 
     of the right to resist the despotism that the National 
     Constituent Assembly aims to impose. We support both the 
     organized and planned actions that contribute to depose such 
     illegal Constituent Assembly, and the execution of necessary 
     actions to reestablish the validity of the Constitution of 
     the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that obeys the mandate 
     of the Popular Consultation that took place on July 16th, 
     2017.
       Ninth: Ratify the people of Venezuela, faithful to its 
     republican tradition, to impugn all forms of despotic 
     government that derived from the National Constituent 
     Assembly, while the country is linked to the duty of 
     obedience to such constituent and those who contribute to its 
     installation operation. The recognized authorities will be 
     the only ones arising from free and democratic elections.
       Tenth: Forward a copy of this agreement to the Secretary-
     General and the Permanent Council of the Organization of 
     American States (OAS), the Organization of United Nations 
     (UN) to the Inter-American Commission on human rights (IACHR) 
     and the members of the diplomatic corps, specially to the 
     representatives of those States that have spoken out without 
     knowing about the election of the National Constituent 
     Assembly.
       Tenth first: Give publicity to this agreement.
       Given, signed and sealed in the Federal Legislative Palace, 
     seat of the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of 
     Venezuela, in Caracas, the first day of August of two 
     thousand seventeen. Year 207 of independence and 158 of the 
     Federation.
     Julio Andres Borges Junyent;
       President of the National Assembly.
     Freddy Guevara Cortez;
       First Vice President.
     Dennis Fernandez Solorzano;
       Second Vice President.
     Jose Ignacio Guedez;
       Secretary.
     Jose Luis Cartaya;
       Subsecretary.

                          ____________________