[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 488 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 488
Supporting the people of Venezuela as they protest peacefully for
democratic change and calling to end the violence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2014
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms.
Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Sires, Mr. Garcia, Mr. DeSantis, Mr. Grayson,
Mr. McCaul, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Murphy of Florida,
Mr. Yoho, Mr. Stockman, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, and Mr. Kinzinger
of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the people of Venezuela as they protest peacefully for
democratic change and calling to end the violence.
Whereas the United States Government should support the free and peaceful
exercise of representative democracy in Venezuela, condemning violence
and intimidation against the country's political opposition, and calling
for dialogue between all political actors in the country;
Whereas, on February 12, 2014, also known in Venezuela as the National Youth
Day, students began protesting in several cities against anti-democratic
decisions and the crippling economy made by Venezuelan leader Nicolas
Maduro;
Whereas, on February 12, 2014, a judge issued an arrest warrant for Leopoldo
Lopez, leader of the opposition party Voluntad Popular, for baseless and
unfounded allegations in connection with the student protests;
Whereas, on February 17, 2014, the Government of Venezuela notified the United
States Department of State that it had declared 3 consular officers at
the United States Embassy in Venezuela personae non gratae;
Whereas over the last year, the Government of Venezuela has expelled a total of
8 United States Government officials from Venezuela;
Whereas, on February 18, 2014, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez turned himself
in to Venezuelan authorities, was arrested, and charged with criminal
incitement, conspiracy, arson, and intent to damage property;
Whereas Leopoldo Lopez is currently being held in a prison at a military
facility;
Whereas according to Amnesty International, ``The charges brought against
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez smack of a politically
motivated attempt to silence dissent in the country'';
Whereas the Venezuelan Government has blocked users' online images as opposition
groups marched through Caracas;
Whereas the Venezuelan people have been protesting economic, social, and
political concerns facing their country, including corruption, rising
inflation rates, unemployment, shortages of everyday products,
increasing crime rates, and the erosion of human rights and respect for
political dissent;
Whereas, on February 19, 2014, President Barack Obama criticized the Venezuelan
Government for arresting protesters, called for their release, and urged
the government to focus on the ``legitimate grievances of the Venezuelan
people'';
Whereas, as of February 20, 2014, there have been 13 people killed, over 100
injured, and many persons unjustly detained due to pro-democracy
demonstrations throughout Venezuela;
Whereas Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro threatened to expel the United States
news network CNN from Venezuela and has taken off the air the Colombian
news channel NTN 24, which transmits in Venezuela, after news outlets
reported on the nation-wide protests;
Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released a statement on
February 14, 2014, which ``expresses its concern over the serious
incidents of violence that have taken place in the context of protest
demonstrations in Venezuela, as well as other complaints concerning acts
of censorship against media outlets, attacks on organizations that
defend human rights, and acts of alleged political persecution''; and
Whereas as a member of the Organization of American States and signatory to the
Inter-American Democratic Charter, the Government of Venezuela has
agreed to abide by the principles of constitutional, representative
democracy, which include free and fair elections and adherence to its
own constitution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the people of Venezuela in their pursuit of
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly to promote
democratic principles in Venezuela;
(2) deplores the inexcusable violence perpetrated against
opposition leaders and protesters in Venezuela, and the growing
efforts to use politically motivated criminal charges to
intimidate the country's political opposition;
(3) urges responsible nations throughout the international
community to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela
and to actively encourage a process of dialogue between the
Government of Venezuela and the political opposition to end the
violence;
(4) urges the United States Department of State to work in
concert with other countries in the Americas to take meaningful
steps to ensure that basic fundamental freedoms in Venezuela
are in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter
and to strengthen the ability of the Organization of American
States (OAS) to respond to the erosion of democratic norms and
institutions in member states;
(5) urges the United States Department of State to insist
that the Secretary General of the OAS immediately convene the
OAS's Permanent Council to seek the most effective way to
expeditiously end the violence in Venezuela in accordance with
the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and
(6) supports the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
in calling upon the Venezuelan Government to ``urgently adopt
all measures that may be necessary to guarantee the rights to
life, humane treatment, and security, as well as the political
rights, the right of assembly, and the rights of freedom of
association and freedom of expression of everyone under its
jurisdiction''.
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