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“VENEZUELA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4059-H4060 on June 22, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
VENEZUELA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the situation in Venezuela is deteriorating very quickly. In Venezuela, the people are running out of medicine, running out of food, experiencing electricity shortages, and the regime cannot even provide basic goods for the people.
Time is ticking, Mr. Speaker. It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when Venezuela implodes due to the destructive policies of Nicolas Maduro. And the United States cannot sit idly by and watch this train wreck occur before our very eyes.
Responsible countries in Latin America must also stand up and be a voice for those suffering in Venezuela. Last week, 15 countries from the region signed a joint statement that expressed respect for the Venezuelan Constitution and called on responsible nations to guarantee due process and human rights. This is a good first step, Mr. Speaker, and I applaud those countries, but more needs to be done.
Tomorrow, the Organization of American States, the OAS, will have a meeting to discuss this crisis. I know that there are some who are advocating for dialogue, but we have tried dialogue before, and it was unsuccessful as Maduro kept coming up with new delays and obstacles in order to prevent a solution. We cannot allow Maduro to continue the charade of a dialogue as a stalling tactic.
A referendum, Mr. Speaker, must occur this year. The people demand it. Because if it doesn't, then next year, Maduro can step aside, hand over power to his Vice President, and the same abusive regime continues while not addressing any of the underlying problems.
If a dialogue does occur, all sectors of the Venezuelan opposition must be at the table. That is only fair. But it cannot happen if some of them are in jail, and a precondition to any dialogue must include the release of all political prisoners.
The regime could show a good-faith effort by doing this, but instead, it continues to go the other direction. It continues to go backwards, postponing the appeal of a political prisoner, Leopoldo Lopez, indefinitely after it was scheduled to occur just 2 days ago.
With its repression, its corruption, and its disastrous economic policies, the Maduro regime is running Venezuela into the ground, and it is no wonder that Venezuelans feel like they are under siege. Riots are occurring on a daily basis, and according to one recent study, 87 percent of Venezuelans say they don't have enough money to buy enough food. This travesty is simply unsustainable, and the regime must be held accountable to the people.
Tomorrow at the OAS, I hope to see the hemisphere finally stand up for itself, stop allowing itself to be mollified by the regime's lies and stall tactics, and hold Maduro's feet to the fire.
Humanitarian aid must be allowed to get through to the people, and the referendum must be held this year. Let the Venezuelan people have their say and finally put an end to this suffering.
In September of last year, Mr. Speaker, I joined 19 of my colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to Secretary Kerry and Secretary Lew urging the administration to enforce a bill that I passed with Senator Marco Rubio, the Venezuelan Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act, and to apply sanctions to regime officials in the Venezuelan court system in response to the unjust sentencing of Venezuelan activist Leopoldo Lopez.
I asked Obama administration officials: What justification do you have for not carrying out and implementing these sanctions for this miscarriage of justice, and what is the dollar amount of the assets seized of the seven individuals whom you have sanctioned?
The State Department has pulled some visas due to human rights violations, but I asked the State Department: Can you tell us how many visas the State Department has pulled, and who are these individuals?
Last week, at the OAS meeting in the Dominican Republic, Secretary Kerry stated that Venezuela should follow its own constitution and hold a free, fair, and timely recall referendum. Does he believe or expect that it will happen this year?
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, Maduro has stated that he is ready to exchange ambassadors. I think this would be a big mistake because it will look as though we are legitimatizing the illegitimate Maduro regime. I hope that the State Department will not nominate someone this year to be Ambassador of Venezuela, and I hope that we, in the U.S., do more to help the long-suffering people of Venezuela.
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