[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 741 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 741
Condemning the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2024
Mr. Graham (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela.
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 coming to power in 2013, Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate
regime have committed numerous 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, and utilizing them to execute illegal raids and extrajudicial
killings;
Whereas, on January 5, 2019, the people of Venezuela responded to years of
suffering and suppression under Nicolas Maduro by electing Juan Guaido
as President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, the only remaining
democratically elected and legitimate institution in the country;
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 reassumed 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, train Venezuelan intelligence
agents in Cuba, and stating that Venezuela is ``grateful to Cuba's
revolutionary armed forces'' and ``salute them and will always welcome
them'';
(2) 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
(3) 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) has since 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; and
Whereas the illegitimate Maduro regime has exhibited a clear pattern of
corruption, ruling by force, and undermining stability and democracy in
Venezuela: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) rejects the attempt by the illegitimate Maduro regime
to hold sham elections and consolidate power through
weaponizing institutions, especially the electoral committee
and judicial system;
(2) demands that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela hold
free and fair elections on July 28, 2024, and allow all
opposition candidates, including Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to
register on the ballot and participate in the elections in
compliance with the Partial Agreement on the Promotion of
Political Rights and Electoral Guarantees for All (commonly
known as the ``Barbados Agreement'');
(3) denounces any attempt by the illegitimate Maduro regime
to intimidate and repress the Venezuelan people and its
democratic candidates through any kind of violence;
(4) condemns the illegitimate Maduro regime for the
flagrant and repeated acts of corruption, desecrating the rule
of law, and engaging in anti-democratic and criminal acts; and
(5) encourages the Administration to condemn the results of
the Venezuelan election on July 28, 2024, if fraud occurs, and
to subsequently impose additional sanctions on Maduro and the
coconspirators in his illegitimate regime to ensure they are
unable to profit through their illegal and corrupt activities.
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