[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8318-8321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE DETERIORATING SITUATION IN VENEZUELA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to Mr. Albio Sires, 
my good friend from New Jersey, the ranking member of our Subcommittee 
on the Western Hemisphere in the Committee on Foreign Affairs for 
joining me tonight for this Special Order regarding the deteriorating 
situation in Venezuela, demonstrating not only the bipartisan nature of 
this issue, Mr. Speaker, but also the need for the United States, and 
specifically the Congress, to be even more engaged.
  As Mr. Sires knows--and we will hear from him in just a few minutes--
the situation in Venezuela, as you can see here, is becoming more 
desperate by the day. The humanitarian situation is getting worse, if 
one can imagine that. The Maduro regime continues its flagrant human 
rights violations, and, despite the latest round of sanctions against 
human rights violators imposed by our excellent Treasury Department, 
the United States needs to take more decisive steps in support of the 
people of Venezuela.
  Mr. Speaker, at least 48 Venezuelans have been killed in almost 2 
months of protests, nonstop protests, against the dictatorship 
responsible for a litany of crimes. You cannot enumerate them. Horrific 
human rights abuses, drug trafficking, a rapidly worsening humanitarian 
situation. The list goes on and on, Mr. Speaker.
  Venezuelans do not have access to even the most basic of necessities, 
which means water, food, and medicine. None of that exists in 
Venezuela. Venezuelan humanitarian shortages of food and medicine. 
People are standing in lines to get nothing. The Venezuelan 
Pharmaceutical Federation estimates that the country is running 
shortages on nearly every necessary medical item. For those few 
Venezuelans who could afford to purchase medicine, they are forced to 
pay exorbitant prices for

[[Page 8319]]

supplies like gauze, pain relievers, Band-Aids, and that is only if 
they are available in the first place, Mr. Speaker. Hospital workers 
have told us that the supplies are being raided, and they are being 
sold on the black market.
  The situation is no better when it comes to food. Last week, a 46-
year-old man was killed by soldiers as he was on his way home from 
buying diapers for his baby. Killed while buying diapers for his baby. 
Why? Because diapers are a scarce commodity. They have been a scarce 
commodity for over a year now in Venezuela, a country that was abundant 
in natural resources. Earlier this week, this very week, a 15-year-old 
boy was shot and killed for the crime of buying flour.
  One study reports that 75 percent of the population of Venezuela--
this is unbelievable--has lost an average of 19 pounds due to food 
shortages. Even obtaining water can be an expensive proposition for 
those without running water at home. The shortage of basic goods has 
led to massive lines, has led to violence, has led to looting as people 
have become increasingly desperate for the basic, meager means to 
survive. We are just talking about basic necessities, Mr. Speaker.
  This tragic humanitarian situation could have been prevented, Mr. 
Speaker, and no one is more responsible than the thug who rules 
Venezuela with an iron fist, Nicolas Maduro, and his despotic regime. 
The Maduro dictatorship presides over the world's largest oil reserves 
yet has managed to run the state oil company and the entire economy 
into the ground.
  Socialism does not work. Communism does not work. One need only look 
at Venezuela. Instead of allowing humanitarian relief, the regime has 
nationalized the food and medical supply chain and put corrupt 
officials in charge. What could go wrong?
  Earlier this month, I wrote a letter, along with my good friend Albio 
Sires, as well as Eliot Engel, the ranking member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and 12 other congressional colleagues joined Mr. 
Sires, Mr. Engel, and myself, urging the administration to use its 
voice, to use our vote, to use our influence at the United Nations 
Security Council to demand that Venezuelan authorities allow the 
delivery and the distribution of humanitarian aid. We were giving them 
what they need. Maduro would have none of it.
  But I applaud our U.S. Ambassador at the U.N., Nikki Haley, for 
organizing a Security Council meeting on Venezuela last week. But more 
needs to be done, Mr. Speaker. As Ambassador Haley bravely said, 
Venezuela is on the edge of a humanitarian crisis, right here in our 
hemisphere. Humanitarian agencies must be allowed to operate 
independently in Venezuela, without interference from the thuggish 
Maduro regime, and deliver the aid that the people so desperately need. 
The world is ready to help Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro refuses this help.
  Humanitarian agencies must say to Maduro, if they are hindered in any 
way, then those responsible must be held to account. Before I continue, 
Mr. Speaker, to address the Maduro regime's abuse of human rights in 
greater detail and how the United States can be a force for good in 
Venezuela, I yield to Albio Sires, my good friend from New Jersey.
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Florida. I want to 
commend her for her passion and her commitment to helping the people of 
Venezuela. I thank her for making me part of this Special Order.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. 
With every week that passes, we see the situation in Venezuela becoming 
more critical.

                              {time}  1930

  A country with the world's largest known oil reserves is spiraling 
into a collapsed state where people are struggling just to survive. 
Journalists and citizens risk their lives every day to report what is 
happening inside Caracas and around the country. We see that tensions 
are growing, and government security forces shoot first and don't even 
bother to ask questions later.
  Maduro continues to keep political prisoners like Leopoldo Lopez 
under lock and key to send a strong message to those trying to question 
his actions. Just yesterday, we saw reports that government buildings 
in western Venezuela are being set ablaze. Make no mistake: It is the 
failed Chavismo policies and the authoritarian actions of Nicolas 
Maduro that have brought all of this pain and suffering upon the 
Venezuelan people.
  Press reports show that of 800,000 businesses that opened during the 
Chavez regime, nearly 600,000 have shut down. Both the Obama and Trump 
administrations have sanctioned senior officials in the Venezuelan 
Government for their associations with narcotrafficking, money 
laundering, and other illicit activities.
  Just today, Reuters released an exclusive report that the Venezuelan 
Government is in possession of 5,000 shoulder-launched surface-to-air 
missiles that are typically used to shoot down low-flying planes and 
helicopters.
  Last week, Spanish authorities interdicted a shipment of 6 tons of 
cocaine from Venezuela en route to their shores. With the recent 
sanctions of Vice President Tareck El Aissami, under the Kingpin Act, 
it has become clear that Venezuela's Government is acting as a narco-
state and facilitating the shipment of narcotics throughout the region. 
These sanctions are not against the Venezuelan people but are carefully 
crafted and targeted towards the individuals who are committed to 
destroying the lives of millions of innocent civilians in exchange for 
money and power.
  Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned members of 
Venezuela's Supreme Court for their rulings that stripped power away 
from the National Assembly, further consolidating Maduro's 
authoritarian regime. Maduro and his cronies continue to get rich as 
they traffic money and drugs while doing nothing to help the millions 
of suffering people in Venezuela. They continue to loot the country as 
reports regarding the worsening situation continue to make front-page 
news throughout the region. Maduro's tactics are making it impossible 
to survive.
  Multiple news reports confirm a growing health crisis as people lack 
access to basic medicines, and infant mortality rates and preventable 
diseases such as diptheria, malaria, and the Zika virus are all on the 
rise. In addition, nearly every day we hear of young children whose 
lives are cut short, whether it is from a bullet from Maduro's thugs or 
the lack of access to food, water, and basic services.
  That is why I am grateful for the efforts of my colleagues here 
tonight who have supported several initiatives in Congress that work to 
hold these thugs accountable. My colleagues and I have held hearings, 
sent letters, and met with our allies in the region to work together to 
try to bring sound relief to the Venezuelan people.
  Meanwhile, instead of focusing on the economy, Maduro is staging mock 
military exercises and stoking fears by spreading propaganda of U.S.-
led invasion.
  The truth about Maduro is clear, and the international community is 
starting to unify against him. The OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro 
has wisely called for Venezuela's suspension from the OAS unless it 
frees its political prisoners, accepts humanitarian aid, and holds 
elections without delay.
  I believe we need to work together with our allies around the world 
and continue to insist Maduro abide by international norms and give the 
Venezuelan people the freedom they deserve.
  I thank my dear friend from Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the 
other Members here tonight for their relentless commitment to these 
important issues.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Sires for such an eloquent 
statement on behalf of the beleaguered and embattled Venezuelan people.
  Before I yield so proudly to Mr. Castro of Texas, another member of 
our Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I would like to say just a few 
words about the continuing human rights abuses and the deteriorating 
situation in Venezuela.

[[Page 8320]]

  As we have heard from Mr. Sires, we are dealing with a corrupt 
dictatorship, and we are dealing with a brutal dictatorship. At least 
42 are dead and 90 arrested since protests began in March of 2017, you 
can see on this poster.
  This is a dictatorship that will go to all lengths to maintain its 
tight grip on power and silence the opposition by tear gas, by real 
bullets, by jailing, and by intimidation. The people of Venezuela are 
literally dying, Mr. Speaker, on the streets from the violence of the 
Maduro regime. They are dying on the streets from starvation, and they 
are dying from the lack of medical supplies, yet they still risk their 
lives.
  This goes on each and every day in Venezuela. They go out into the 
streets. They demonstrate to the world that they will not be silenced, 
and what they desire is freedom, and what they desire is democracy, and 
what they desire is nothing less and nothing more than their God-given 
human rights, the very same intangibles that many in America here take 
for granted because we live in the greatest country in the world. We 
take for granted that we have our freedom.
  But the ideals that we proudly espouse and defend around the world 
are alive and well in the streets of Venezuela. Venezuelans are 
protesting against the regime's continual assaults on Venezuela's 
constitutional and democratic order.
  Like Chavez before him, Nicolas Maduro has a horrific human rights 
record, including restrictions on freedom of expression, restrictions 
on the press, widespread arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, 
torture, and the list goes on and on.
  In its human rights reports on Venezuela last year, our own State 
Department noted how the Maduro regime has misused the judiciary to 
undermine the National Assembly, a body overwhelmingly manipulated by 
the opposition since December of 2015. This opposition has risen to 
power thanks to the vote of the people.
  So what did Nicolas Maduro say? Well, his supreme court nullified 
almost every action taken by the National Assembly, including refusing 
to allow lawmakers to take their seats in the legislature and 
overturning laws to free political prisoners and grow the economy.
  I am so pleased to see that we have been joined by the chairman of 
the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Mr. Duncan, tonight.
  But things have only gotten worse since that time. In March, the 
regime controlled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice--a sad name for what 
it does--and ruled that it would resume the responsibilities of the 
National Assembly. It said: We are the state. Who needs the National 
Assembly that is manipulated and controlled by the opposition? We 
nullify its actions. We will assume the responsibility.
  And although what the Tribunal said, they had to backtrack almost 
immediately because the condemnation internationally was so loud. It 
partially reversed its decision just a few days later, but the damage 
was already done, Mr. Speaker. Venezuelans had further proof of a break 
in the constitutional order.
  Anti-regime protests have been going on, as we can see here, day 
after day, day after day, as hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have 
taken to the streets to demand relief from the Maduro repression. 
According to The New York Times, before these protests even began, Mr. 
Speaker, the Maduro regime had arrested 6,893 people, jailed 433 for 
political reasons just in the past few years, and there are at least 
175 political prisoners behind bars today, including Leopoldo Lopez and 
Daniel Ceballos.
  Joshua Holt, a United States citizen, Mr. Speaker, is being unjustly 
held for nearly a year. In September, I wrote a letter, joined by my 
colleagues here, to the State Department about Joshua's case. Joshua 
Holt's health has deteriorated over the last month. I urged the State 
Department to secure his unconditional release on humanitarian grounds. 
We all were humbled to meet with Joshua Holt's mom, who is so anxious 
to see his release, just last month.
  So, Mr. Speaker, despite all of the Maduro regime's human rights 
abuses, the beatings, the violence, the murders, the repression, and 
the political prisoners, despite all of this, the Venezuelan people are 
refusing to be silenced. They are rising up, and they are protesting in 
even greater numbers. This is just amazing.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro), my 
good friend from the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen 
and Congressman Albio Sires for their incredible work on this issue and 
all of their passion. I also thank the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee 
chairman, Congressman Duncan. I know how much he has worked on the 
issue of Venezuela, and Latin America also.
  The people of Venezuela are in dire need of humanitarian assistance 
to endure critical food and medicine shortages. The desperation, 
oppression, and violence in Venezuela really are reaching a breaking 
point.
  Three out of four Venezuelans have lost significant weight during the 
last year due to food shortages.
  In 2016, the nation suffered a homicide rate of 91.8 per 100,000 
people, making Venezuela the second most violent country in the world 
outside of a war zone.
  We have reason to believe more than half of Venezuelans want to leave 
their home country.
  Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said 
Colombia should expect an ``avalanche'' of Venezuelan refugees, an 
influx that could complicate this critical time for Colombia's own 
peace agreement. Meanwhile, President Maduro's government is taking 
increasingly antidemocratic actions in violation of Venezuela's own 
constitution.
  Since Venezuela's supreme court attempted to dissolve the country's 
legislature in March, the Venezuelan people have sustained massive 
protests, leading to a brutal crackdown from government security 
forces. The best outcome for this political crisis is a Venezuelan 
solution: a peaceful return to free and fair elections.
  At the same time, the United States has a responsibility to work 
alongside our allies at the Organization of American States and the 
United Nations to hold Maduro's government accountable and to provide 
humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela.
  Last week, President Trump authorized sanctions against the members 
of Venezuela's supreme court who attempted to shut down the 
legislature. While U.S. sanctions against individuals in the Maduro 
regime are justified, sanctions work best when implemented 
multilaterally. More importantly, unilateral actions are no substitute 
for collective, coordinated pressure.
  The OAS has scheduled a meeting of foreign ministers on the situation 
in Venezuela to take place on May 31 here in Washington, D.C. This 
meeting presents an opportunity to work with our partners and 
Venezuela's neighbors to support a return to democracy and respect for 
human rights. I hope Secretary Tillerson will represent the United 
States at this meeting and demonstrate our Nation's support for the 
Venezuelan people.
  One of the reasons that I chose to join the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee when I was already part of the Foreign Affairs Committee 
is because I believe that there are many things that happen in Latin 
America that don't get the attention that they deserve here in the 
United States.

                              {time}  1945

  It is amazing to think that there is a human rights crisis going on 
right now in our own Western Hemisphere. Of course, there are many 
challenges around the world. We know that because of the war in Syria 
and the unrest in the region, Europe, over the last few years, has 
faced its largest migration crisis since World War II.
  There are challenges with human rights and freedom in every continent 
just about. But we have to make sure that we attend to the things that 
are happening in our own backyard, so to speak.
  So I thank each of you for being here tonight to speak up on this 
issue of human rights in Venezuela and the crisis that they are going 
through.

[[Page 8321]]


  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, we are so pleased that Mr. Castro has, 
once again, joined us in this battle for human rights, for democracy, 
for justice, for the rule of law, in our hemisphere. His voice is a 
valiant one that needs to be heard and is always present whenever the 
struggle for human rights is mentioned.
  So thank you, Mr. Castro, for this stance today and for the stance 
that you have taken on behalf of beleaguered people in our hemisphere 
every day.
  Now, Mr. Sires and I are so thankful that our subcommittee chairman 
of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Duncan), has joined us.
  As I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Sires is the ranking member of that 
subcommittee, and Mr. Duncan is the chairman of that subcommittee, a 
valiant voice for freedom that must be heard.
  I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the 
chairwoman, former chairwoman of the full committee when I first came 
to Congress, and a real leader on foreign affairs issues, focused on 
Cuba and Venezuela. She has been a real mentor to me, and I want to 
thank her for her work on this, giving us the opportunity to speak 
tonight.
  Again, Ranking Member Sires has been a champion on our subcommittee. 
I want to echo the words about Mr. Castro as well. We have got a great 
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere focusing on freedom and 
democracy in the Western Hemisphere.
  What we see in Venezuela is alarming, as well as it is saddening, 
when we hear about Venezuelans who are scrounging for food in the 
dumpsters, eating domesticated animals, even flamingos; people who are 
hungry because the socialistic policies of the Maduro and the previous 
Chavez regime has not worked in Venezuela. A country that has bountiful 
natural resources, more oil than Saudi Arabia, should be leading this 
hemisphere in economics.
  Yet because of the policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments, the 
people of Venezuela are continuing to be oppressed. This weekend, more 
than 2,000 Venezuelans took to the streets, marking, I think, the 50th 
day of protests against this regime. I can't think of any other way to 
describe this faux democracy in Venezuela, other than a regime.
  The Venezuelan people are standing up and calling for a new 
government. They are calling for more democracy, true democracy, 
representation in their own government, freedoms that we take for 
granted here in this country, freedoms of speech, and the right to 
peacefully assemble, the right to participate in their government and 
have accountability, the right to petition their government for 
grievances. And they have got some grievances against the Maduro 
regime.
  Yet Maduro continues to oppress the Venezuelan people. It is not 
unlike what we have seen in Cuba. Folks, socialism doesn't work, and it 
is not working in Venezuela, and they are a prime example. But Maduro 
doesn't want to listen to his own people in Venezuela and call for new 
democratic elections, where the people elect their representatives to 
congress and to the Presidency.
  But he has called for elections, and he said just recently: ```Votes 
or bullets. What do the people want?' Maduro asked a crowd of red-
shirted supporters waving Venezuela flags at the Miraflores 
presidential palace.''
  Votes or bullets? Is that how we talk about the democratic process in 
a true democracy? I say no, and I tell the Venezuelan people, America 
stands with you as you approach democracy.
  It is time for more people in this hemisphere and the Organization of 
American States, all the member countries, to stand with the Venezuelan 
people, and let's change the government in Venezuela through peaceful 
means, democratic means, that their Constitution calls for.
  But yet, Maduro is ignoring the Constitution. In fact, he got the 
Supreme Court to go along with him to discount the National Assembly 
there, and, luckily, they reversed course on that because they realized 
the world was watching and the world was saying that is not how 
democracies operate.
  The Venezuelan people need the support of the world, and I call on 
the world today to come to the backs, standing with, watching the backs 
of the Venezuelan people, because Maduro has told his snipers to get 
ready; told his snipers to get ready to attack the protesters that are 
protesting a supposed democrat government. Wow.
  So I want to thank the chairwoman. I want to thank Ambassador Nikki 
Haley, former Governor of South Carolina, who has stood strong in the 
U.N. as Ambassador to the U.N. for the Trump administration. I want to 
thank her for standing with the Venezuelan people for democratic 
principles.
  I want to thank all those in this Chamber, including my ranking 
member, for having stern and direct conversations with the OAS about 
Venezuela.
  I want to thank Argentina for what they have done, stepping up to the 
plate. These are countries that understand the democratic process.
  I want to thank Brazil for actually allowing the democratic process 
to work in the country of Brazil through an impeachment of their 
President, and allowing the democratic forces to work to return that to 
a representative government.
  It is time for America to stand with our friends about democratic 
principles here. Snipers? That is not how we operate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________