Deploring the Violent Repression of Peaceful Demonstrators in Venezuela

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SENATE RESOLUTION 365--DEPLORING THE VIOLENT REPRESSION OF PEACEFUL

DEMONSTRATORS IN VENEZUELA, CALLING FOR FULL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HUMAN

RIGHTS VIOLATIONS TAKING PLACE IN VENEZUELA, AND SUPPORTING THE RIGHT

OF THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE TO THE FREE AND PEACEFUL EXERCISE OF

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cruz, and Mr.

Nelson) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Relations.:

S. Res. 365

Whereas the Government of Venezuela's chronic mismanagement

of its economy has produced inflation that exceeds 50 percent

annually, currency shortages, economic distortions, and the

routine absence of basic goods and foodstuffs;

Whereas the Government of Venezuela's failure to guarantee

minimal standards of public security for its citizens has led

the country to become one of the most violent in the world,

with the per capita homicide rate in the city of Caracas

exceeding 115 per 100,000 people;

Whereas the Government of Venezuela has taken continued

steps to remove checks and balances on the executive,

politicize the judiciary, undermine the independence of the

legislature through use of executive decree powers, persecute

and prosecute its political opponents, curtail freedom of the

press, and limit the free expression of its citizens;

Whereas, on January 23, 2014, National Representative Maria

Corina Machado and Mr. Leopoldo Lopez, leader of the

political party ``Popular Will'', among others, called on the

Venezuelan people to gather in street assemblies and debate a

popular, democratic and constitutional ``way out'' of

Venezuela's crisis of governability;

Whereas, since February 4, 2014, the people of Venezuela--

responding to ongoing economic hardship, high levels of crime

and violence, and the lack of basic political rights and

individual freedoms--have turned out in demonstrations in

Caracas and throughout the country to protest the Government

of Venezuela's inability to ensure the political and economic

well-being of its citizens;

Whereas the government of Nicolas Maduro responded to the

mass demonstrations by ordering the arrest without evidence

of senior opposition leaders, including Mr. Leopoldo Lopez,

Carlos Vecchio, and Antonio Rivero, and by violently

repressing peaceful demonstrators with the help of the

Venezuelan National Guard and groups of armed, government-

affiliated civilians, known as ``collectives'';

Whereas, on February 18, 2014, opposition leader Leopoldo

Lopez turned himself in to authorities in Venezuela, was

arrested, and charged unjustly with criminal incitement,

conspiracy, arson, and intent to damage property;

Whereas the Maduro government has sought to censor

information about the demonstrations and the government's

violent crackdown by blocking online images and threatening

the few remaining uncensored domestic media outlets;

Whereas President 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 of February 27, 2014, there have been 13 people

killed, over 100 injured, and dozens have been unjustly

detained due to pro-democracy demonstrations throughout

Venezuela: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) reaffirms United States support for the people of

Venezuela in their pursuit of the free exercise of

representative democracy as guaranteed by the Venezuelan

constitution

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and defined under the Inter-American Democratic Charter of

the Organization of American States;

(2) deplores the use of excessive and unlawful force

against peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela and the

inexcusable use of violence and politically-motivated

criminal charges to intimidate the country's political

opposition;

(3) calls on the Government of Venezuela to disarm and

dismantle the system of ``colectivos'' or ``collectives'' and

any other government-affiliated or supported militias or

vigilante groups;

(4) calls on the Government of Venezuela to allow an

impartial, third-party investigation into the excessive and

unlawful force against peaceful demonstrations on multiple

occasions since February 4th, 2014;

(5) urges the President to immediately impose targeted

sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, against

individuals planning, facilitating, or perpetrating gross

human rights violations against peaceful demonstrators,

journalists, and other members of civil society in Venezuela;

and

(6) calls for the United States Government to work with

other countries in the hemisphere to actively encourage a

process of dialogue between the Government of Venezuela and

the political opposition through the good offices of the

Organization of American States so that the voices of all

Venezuelans can be taken into account through their country's

constitutional institutions as well as free and fair

elections.