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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1403 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1403
Recognizing Edmundo Gonzalez of Venezuela as the winner of the
Venezuelan Election which took place on July 28th, 2024 and condemning
the Maduro regime.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2024
Mr. Gimenez (for himself, Mr. Mooney, and Mr. Owens) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing Edmundo Gonzalez of Venezuela as the winner of the
Venezuelan Election which took place on July 28th, 2024 and condemning
the Maduro regime.
Whereas, since 2005, the United States has imposed targeted sanctions on
individuals and entities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that
have engaged in criminal, anti-democratic, unconstitutional, or corrupt
acts and violated basic human rights;
Whereas, since 2006, the Secretary of State has determined that Venezuela is not
``cooperating fully with United States anti-terrorism efforts'' as
outlined in section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2781);
Whereas, since obtaining power in 2013, Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate
regime have committed countless criminal, anti-democratic,
unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and violated basic human rights,
including--
(1) embezzling billions of dollars from the Venezuelan people,
including through the illicit removal of gold from the Central Bank of
Venezuela;
(2) declaring approximately 12 percent of the country to be a part of
an ``Orinoco Mining Arc'' and using his position to oversee the
exploitation of vital resources for personal gain; and
(3) establishing the Special Action Force of the National Police (FAES)
in 2017, which has since been replaced by the Directorate of Strategic and
Tactical Actions, and utilizing them to execute illegal raids, unlawful
arrests, and extrajudicial killings;
Whereas, upon being elected President of the National Assembly of Venezuela,
Juan Guaido invoked relevant articles of the Venezuelan constitution and
became the Interim President of Venezuela;
Whereas, on January 10, 2019, Nicolas Maduro unlawfully usurped the presidency
of Venezuela, and his rule was deemed illegitimate by many Venezuelans
and more than 50 countries, including most of the neighboring countries
of Venezuela, the United States, and the majority of the European Union;
Whereas, since unlawfully reassuming the presidency in 2019, Nicolas Maduro has
exacerbated ongoing economic and humanitarian crises, and forced more
than 7,700,000 people to flee Venezuela;
Whereas Nicolas Maduro has provided diplomatic support to, and engaged with,
countries that have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism under
United States law, including by--
(1) allowing the Republic of Cuba to restructure the Venezuelan
military, train Armed Forces in Venezuela, and train Venezuelan
intelligence agents in Communist Cuba,
(2) stating that Venezuela is ``grateful to Cuba's revolutionary Armed
Forces'' and ``salute them and will always welcome them'';
(3) awarding a $490,000,000 contract to the state-owned National
Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company to revamp the Paraguana
Refining Center, the largest refining complex in Venezuela; and
(4) establishing a diplomatic mission and embassy in the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as ``North Korea'') and allowing
North Korea to similarly establish a mission and embassy in Venezuela;
Whereas, in response to the numerous criminal, anti-democratic,
unconstitutional, and corrupt acts and basic human rights violations
committed by Nicolas Maduro and persons serving in his illegitimate
regime, the United States has imposed a number of sanctions on him and
his enablers, including--
(1) on March 8, 2015, when President Barack Obama issued Executive
Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property and
suspending entry of certain persons contributing to the situation in
Venezuela) to sanction persons engaged in public corruption activities and
involved in human rights violations, the persecution of political
opponents, the curtailment of press freedoms, and the arbitrary arrest and
detention of anti-government protestors;
(2) on August 24, 2017, when President Donald Trump issued Executive
Order 13808 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to imposing additional sanctions
with respect to the situation in Venezuela), which prohibited the
Government of Venezuela from accessing financial markets of the United
States;
(3) on March 19, 2018, when President Donald Trump issued Executive
Order 13827 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to taking additional steps to
address the situation in Venezuela) to prohibit any transaction involving
the issuance of any Venezuelan digital currency;
(4) on May 21, 2018, when President Donald Trump issued Executive Order
13835 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to prohibiting certain additional
transactions with respect to Venezuela) to prohibit transactions related to
purchasing Venezuelan debt;
(5) on August 5, 2019, when President Donald Trump issued Executive
Order 13884 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property of the
Government of Venezuela), freezing the assets of the Maduro government in
the United States and blocking the property, imposing visa restrictions,
and permitting financial sanctions on non-United States persons that assist
the Maduro government; and
(6) under section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, Foreign
Operations and Related Appropriations Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-6; 133
Stat. 317) and section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, Foreign
Operations and Related Appropriations Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-94; 133
Stat. 2864);
Whereas, on October 17, 2023, the illegitimate Maduro regime signed the Partial
Agreement on the Promotion of Political Rights and Electoral Guarantees
for All (commonly known as the ``Barbados Agreement''), which states
that all parties, including the opposition party, shall be allowed to
freely select their candidates for the presidential election;
Whereas the Biden Administration--
(1) on October 18, 2023, in response to the signing of the Barbados
Agreement, issued General License No. 44 and suspended certain sanctions on
Venezuela's oil and gas sector; and
(2) allowed General License No. 44 to expire on April 18, 2024, in
response the illegitimate Maduro regime preventing the democratic
opposition from registering the candidate of their choice, harassing and
intimidating political opponents, and unjustly detaining numerous political
actors and members of civil society;
Whereas Maria Corina Machado--
(1) was elected by the people of Venezuela on October 26, 2023, as the
opposition candidate to run against the illegitimate Maduro regime in the
July 28, 2024, presidential election in Venezuela;
(2) was subsequently disqualified on January 26, 2024, by the Supreme
Justice Tribunal, the highest court of Venezuela, from running in the
election and was not provided the opportunity to respond to the
disqualifying allegations in court; and
(3) endorsed Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to run for President of Venezuela
since her unwarranted disqualification, stating on the campaign trail, ``We
are united and strong'';
Whereas, on December 20, 2023, the Maduro regime finally released 6 wrongfully
detained United States citizens in Venezuela only after the Biden
Administration agreed to release Alex Saab, who was charged in Federal
court in October 2021, for laundering the proceeds of violations of the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-213; 91 Stat. 1494)
in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of the
exchange rate controlled by Venezuela;
Whereas the Department of State has described Saab as ``one of the two most
important money men in the Maduro government'' and ``the middle man''
between Maduro's narco-terrorist regime and the Islamic Republic of
Iran;
Whereas prior to his arrest, Saab established the illegal ``Gold for Gas''
scheme with Iran, allowing the country to avoid sanctions and be paid in
Venezuelan gold in exchange for sham ``humanitarian'' deliveries of fuel
to Venezuela;
Whereas, on January 15, 2024, Maduro proved to the world that he operates a
criminal enterprise disguised as a country when he named Alex Saab as
the head of Venezuela's International Investment Center;
Whereas the illegitimate Maduro regime has exhibited a clear pattern of
corruption, ruling by force, and undermining stability and democracy in
Venezuela;
Whereas in the hours following the presidential election, the National Electoral
Council in Venezuela halted the Transmission of vote count data and
prevented opposition poll watchers from viewing the voting data; and
Whereas, on July 28, 2024, the people of Venezuela held their presidential
election, which exit polls showed the overwhelming favorite and victor
to be Edmundo Gonzalez: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) congratulates the citizens of Venezuela for using their
voice and vote to stand up to Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship;
(2) denounces the attempt by the illegitimate Maduro regime
to intimidate and repress the Venezuelan people, including
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, Maria Corina Machado, and other
opposition leaders, through any kind of violence;
(3) applauds Secretary Anthony Blinken and Assistant
Secretary Brian Nichols for their work with international
partners to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the rightful winner
of the Venezuelan election on July 28, 2024;
(4) encourages the Biden Administration impose additional
sanctions on Maduro and his coconspirators in their
illegitimate attempt to commit electoral fraud and make a
mockery of the presidential election; and
(5) recognizes Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the
Venezuelan Presidential election on July 28, 2024.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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