Democracy Suffers Yet Another Setback with Return of Maduro's Decree Powers in Venezuela, Says Ros-Lehtinen

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, made the following statement in expectation of the Venezuelan National Assembly's decision to grant Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro decree powers. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"By making another power grab through decree, Maduro is attempting to distract away from the reality that it is his own disastrous policies that have caused Venezuela's economy to spiral out of control. This is all smoke and mirrors from Maduro, arguing he needs these decree powers to counter the sanctions that the Obama administration just levied against members of his corrupt regime. The truth is the sanctions imposed by the U.S. did not impact the people of Venezuela nor the economy, but rather targeted specific human rights violators within the regime -- but these thugs never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.

"This trick of blaming the U.S. for the Venezuelan regime's own failures is straight from the playbook of Maduro's handlers in Havana, but no one should be fooled by this charade and his desperate attempts to cling on to power by any means. Responsible nations in the hemisphere must not remain silent as this renewed power grab takes place, for the sake of Venezuelans and their fundamental freedoms."

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