Venezuila Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to thank my colleague and the gentlewoman from south Florida, who has really been a passionate advocate and whom I have stood in solidarity with on this and so many other issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014. I do so as the proud representative of Westonzuela, my hometown, and one in which we have an incredibly rich and vibrant community of Venezuelans and Venezuelan Americans. As the representative of one of the largest communities of Venezuelans and Venezuelan Americans in the United States, I am here to strongly speak out against the continued, unconscionable abuses of the Maduro government against innocent citizens.

Earlier this year, facing a repressive government and crushing economic conditions, thousands of Venezuelans peacefully protested to demand their basic human rights and dignity. In response, President Maduro and his security forces brutally suppressed their own citizens in the streets and used the judiciary to squash voices championing freedom of expression and democracy. Although President Maduro has tried to further silence these voices by limiting media coverage of the ongoing oppression and repression and terrible economic conditions of his country, we can still hear the demands for justice and for dignity.

This bill would impose sanctions on those individuals in Maduro's regime who have ordered the arrest or prosecution of anyone exercising their right to peacefully assemble or protest, or those who supported those actions. Through our action here today, we signify the determination of the American people to stand for freedom and democracy, and this bill reinforces the sentiments and actions of the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration.

Along with my colleagues, I stand in solidarity with those brave Venezuelans continuing to advocate for their rights, including opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who outrageously remains in prison. I look forward to this measure's passage and to President Obama's signature, and working with the Obama administration and our allies to hold these perpetrators of the injustice accountable for their crimes.

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