This week, on Capitol Hill, the Florida delegation led the charge against the Venezuelan political leadership.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 which freezes visas and assets and imposes sanctions on the leadership of the Maduro regime. The U.S. Senate passed its version of the bill earlier in the week so now the bill is headed to President Barack Obama.
The Senate bill was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who also sits on the committee. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on Monday.
With these sanctions, we can end the days of Venezuelan regime officials and thugs repressing innocent Venezuelans in their day jobs and then coming to Florida to live in the lap of luxury and splurge Venezuelas wealth," Rubio said on Wednesday after the House passed its version of the bill. This is the first step to address human rights violations in Venezuela, and it will be a blow to the hypocrites in Nicol Maduros regime who talk a lot about socialist sacrifice but who themselves are immune from its failures and live in a fantasy world of gold-plated iPads and fancy cars, even though most Venezuelans cant even find basic necessities like food and toilet paper.
Although passing this sanctions legislation is important, its only the first step in our work supporting the human rights and democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people, Rubio added. As Venezuelas economy and society further deteriorates under the weight of an incompetent, unaccountable and repressive government, failed socialist economic system and dropping oil prices, I believe we are going to see even more repression from Maduros regime.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was one of the original co-sponsors of the bill and he insisted on Wednesday it was a needed piece of legislation.
These sanctions send an important signal to the Maduro regime that the world will not tolerate more of the oppressive tactics we saw during the time of Hugo Chavez, said Nelson. The right to speak and assemble freely must be protected in Venezuela.
Two Republicans from Florida -- U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart -- introduced the bill in the House.
The Venezuelan people continue to suffer through the escalating repression and rampant corruption of the Chavez-Maduro regime, Diaz-Balart said after the House passed the bill. As students and other activists peacefully protest against oppressive acts, food shortages, soaring crime rates, more than 4,000 people have been arrested, 1,000 injured, and dozens killed. The Maduro regime has attempted to silence courageous democracy leaders like the imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo Lez and Mar Corina Machado, who was stripped of her elected position and intimidated with bogus charges.
The House voted in favor of supporting the Venezuelan people earlier this year with passage of HR 4587, Diaz-Balart added. Tonight, it continues to show solidarity by again voting in favor of strong sanctions and support of the Venezuelan people. Passage of S 2142 reveals strong bicameral and bipartisan support for the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people, and is a powerful condemnation of the Maduro regimes oppression. I thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and Sens. Rubio and Menendez for their leadership and unwavering dedication to human rights and democracy in our hemisphere. I urge President Obama to join in solidarity with the people of Venezuela by signing this critically important legislation.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
