119-sres339

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 339 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 339

 Condemning Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan regime's continued human 
 rights abuses, political repression, and dismantling of democratic 
 institutions, and recognizing the resilience of the Venezuelan 
democratic opposition under the leadership of Maria Corina Machado and 
 Edmundo Gonzalez.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 28, 2025

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. 
 Curtis) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Condemning Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan regime's continued human 
 rights abuses, political repression, and dismantling of democratic 
 institutions, and recognizing the resilience of the Venezuelan 
democratic opposition under the leadership of Maria Corina Machado and 
 Edmundo Gonzalez.

Whereas, since coming into power in 2013, President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro 
 has continued the unraveling of democratic institutions, the suppression 
 of political dissent, and the perpetration of extensive human rights 
 abuses, including alleged crimes against humanity for which he is being 
 investigated by the International Criminal Court;
Whereas the Maduro regime has repeatedly failed to uphold its commitment to the 
 people of Venezuela to hold free and fair elections, including by 
 violating the terms of the electoral roadmap agreement reached with the 
 Venezuelan democratic opposition in October 2023 in Bridgetown, 
 Barbados;
Whereas the Maduro regime unjustly barred opposition candidate Maria Corina 
 Machado from participating in the presidential election in Venezuela in 
 July 2024 despite more than 2,000,000 Venezuelans supporting her in the 
 democratic opposition-organized primary;
Whereas, despite the Maduro regime forcing the democratic opposition to 
 participate in an electoral environment of restricted freedoms for 
 political actors, civil society, and the media that did not meet 
 international standards of electoral integrity, independently released 
 vote tallies overwhelmingly indicate that opposition candidate Edmundo 
 Gonzalez was the legitimate victor of the July 2024 presidential 
 election;
Whereas the Maduro regime's failure to release legitimate vote tallies and allow 
 an independent, transparent electoral audit of the July 2024 
 presidential election further undermined the democratic will of the 
 Venezuelan people, rendering the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro on 
 January 10, 2025, illegitimate;
Whereas, in the immediate aftermath of the July 2024 presidential election, the 
 Maduro regime escalated its suppression of dissent against civil society 
 and democratic opposition groups in Venezuela, including by--

    (1) cracking down on peaceful protesters, with at least 25 killed and 
more than 2,000 detained;

    (2) launching ``Bolivarian Fury,'' a plan falsely alleged to be 
preventing a coup that involved the vandalization of the offices of media 
outlets, civil society groups, and opposition officials and the detainment 
of at least 48 individuals;

    (3) launching ``Operation Knock Knock,'' a systematic effort to 
intimidate political opponents and chill speech critical of the election 
results using random inspections, security checkpoints, and paramilitary 
threats;

    (4) issuing arrest warrants for opposition officials, including Edmundo 
Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, and forcing many other opposition 
figures into hiding for fear of imprisonment; and

    (5) enacting a repressive anti-NGO law, significantly reducing civil 
society's ability to operate independently in Venezuela by requiring 
approval by the regime for operations and funding of nongovernmental 
organizations;

Whereas the families of those detained in the wake of the July 2024 presidential 
 election were not notified of the arrests and were unable to contact or 
 find their relatives, qualifying such imprisonments as forced 
 disappearances, and at least 62 of the individuals arrested following 
 the election remain unaccounted for, while an estimated 896 political 
 prisoners remain behind bars as of April 2025;
Whereas human rights groups have documented frequent instances of beatings, food 
 deprivation, and a lack of medical care in prisons in Venezuela, with at 
 least four individuals detained following the July 2024 presidential 
 election dying while in custody;
Whereas the Maduro regime continues to arbitrarily arrest and wrongfully detain 
 citizens of the United States and foreign nationals;
Whereas, in the year following the July 2024 presidential election, repression 
 of opposition figures has continued, resulting in opposition candidate 
 Edmundo Gonzalez being forced to flee the country, the arbitrary arrest 
 of Edmundo's son-in-law Rafael Tudares, and other opposition members 
 seeking refuge at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas until a successful 
 extraction operation in May 2025;
Whereas, in the run-up to legislative and gubernatorial elections on May 25, 
 2025, the Maduro regime further delegitimized the electoral process by 
 banning opposition leaders from running, barring international observers 
 from monitoring the election, and eliminating the QR code system that 
 enabled independent confirmation of voting results;
Whereas, in the days prior to the May elections, the Maduro regime further 
 escalated its repression, arresting 70 opposition leaders and civil 
 activists, including opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa; and
Whereas, despite political repression, state-perpetrated violence, and 
 democratic backsliding, the people of Venezuela, led by a strong 
 coalition of opposition leaders with Maria Corina Machado at the head, 
 remain determined to see their nation escape from the iron authoritarian 
 grip of Nicolas Maduro: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the Senate--

    (1) recognizes the steadfast leadership of democratic 
 opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose courage in the 
 face of Nicolas Maduro's assault on dissent and democratic 
 norms allows citizens of Venezuela to hope for a democratic 
 future;

    (2) urges the Maduro regime to release all illegitimately 
 held political prisoners and foreign nationals, including 
 opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa and all wrongfully 
 detained Americans; and

    (3) calls on the administration of President Trump to 
 remain committed to advancing a peaceful, democratic transition 
 of power in Venezuela to end the country's ongoing 
 humanitarian, political, and economic crises.
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