[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12371-12372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       YON GOICOCHEA: POLITICAL PRISONER OF THE VENEZUELAN REGIME

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the plight 
of Yon Goicochea, a 36-year-old political prisoner who is being 
unjustly detained in a Venezuelan prison. On August 29, 2016, Mr. 
Goicochea was arrested by the Venezuelan secret police because of his 
role as a leading advocate for a democratic and transparent Venezuela. 
Over the past decade, Mr. Goicochea has played a crucial part in 
leading pro-democracy movements in Venezuela. At one point, he even led 
the pro-democracy opposition party, ``Voluntad Popular.''
  After working for various opposition movements, Mr. Goicochea found 
himself and his family increasingly under threat by the repressive 
Maduro regime. Mr. Goicochea made the decision to leave Venezuela with 
his family in 2013 and come to the United States to pursue a degree in 
Law from Columbia University. Three years later, Mr. Goicochea returned 
to Venezuela to fight for freedom, democracy and human rights.
  Mr. Goicochea has remained in prison since his arrest in 2016. As 
highlighted in a recent report by the Office of the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Human Rights Arbitrary Detentions Group, Mr. Goicochea 
has been denied the right to due process and subject to brutal forms of 
solitary confinement. Unfortunately, Mr. Goicochea is only one of 
thousands to have been unjustly imprisoned by the Maduro regime.
  The United States must address these egregious human rights abuses by 
fully implementing and applying additional sanctions against Maduro 
regime officials who continue to violate the most basic principles of 
human rights and liberty and who are responsible for the plight of the 
Venezuelan people. Maduro and his thugs must not be allowed to continue 
to oppress the people of Venezuela without paying a significant price. 
We must demand the release of all the political prisoners who have been 
denied their fundamental human rights.
  The Venezuelan people have illustrated an unrelenting resolve to 
bring about a just and democratic Venezuela. Just during the past three 
months, over ninety people have been killed, thousands injured, and 
hundreds have been subject to politically motivated arrests, as the 
people of Venezuela have taken to the streets to protest the 
undemocratic nature of this brutal regime. The United States must stand 
with Mr. Goicochea, all political prisoners, and the people of 
Venezuela in their pursuit of a democratic society.

[[Page 12372]]



                          ____________________