Maduro Blocking Amnesty Law Latest Example Of His Abuse Of Power And Disregard For Democratic Principles

Statement

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement after the Venezuelan Supreme Court, controlled by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, declared that the Amnesty Law was unconstitutional. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"Maduro is manipulating the judicial system in order to quash the will of the Venezuelan people and is falsely claiming that the recently passed Amnesty Law is unconstitutional. This is the same corrupt judicial system that carried out Maduro's bidding by sentencing many innocent political activists, like Leopoldo Lopez, to prison in the first place and now, Maduro is once again wielding this corrupt body to disregard the rule of law and the voice of the people by nullifying the Venezuelan National Assembly's actions.

"The Obama administration and responsible nations in the Hemisphere must come together to ensure that these undemocratic and destructive actions by Maduro do not go unpunished. I call on the White House to sanction individuals of the Supreme Court and of the judicial system who helped carry out this miscarriage of justice and violation of human rights. The Organization of American States should also invoke Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and call for an immediate convocation of the Permanent Council."

Source