With the crisis in Venezuela spiraling out of control, the U.S. and its allies have been put in the position to use military action against the Maduro regime to stop the human rights atrocities that are being carried out.
This is a federal, international issue, so it’s in the U.S. Congress’ purview to tackle the evolving crisis.
Outside of Venezuela, south Florida is ground zero for the problems that plague that country. More Venezuelans live in the Miami-Dade and Broward County region of the state than any other part of the country.
While the issue has, all-but taken over the news headlines, only a handful of members of Florida’s congressional delegation are ‘all hands-on deck’ when it comes to denouncing the murders and other crimes the Maduro regime is committing on a daily basis.
Senator Rick Scott and Marco Rubio (R) have become the “Color Commentators” of sorts with their hourly, minute-to-minute updates of the Venezuelan crises. Rubio more so, considering that he has a personal stake in the matter, as a kill order has been placed on his head by a Maduro regime official.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R) has also been hammering Maduro’s regime, tying it to the Cuban government, who 23 years ago shot down a Brothers to the Rescue plane, killing all four on board.
Other members of the Florida congressional delegation have taken a somewhat of a hard-lined position against Maduro, but have seem to have been distracted with other issues they feel are more pressing.
Rep. Donna Shalala (D) called for an end to Maduro’s regime and called out Bernie Sanders for saying that Juan Guaido was not the “legitimate” president of Venezuela. Outside of those remarks, Shalala has been silent on the issue.
Today, @DonnaShalala joins millions of Venezuelans demanding the end to the Maduro regime and the entrance of the humanitarian aid. #23FAvalanchaHumanitaria pic.twitter.com/74zjxKLx2g
— Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) February 23, 2019
Aside from mentioning a gathering in Weston, Florida by other some of her south Florida colleagues to show solidarity with the Venezuelan community, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) has been focused on pushing back against the Trump Administration’s immigration policy.
Rep. Alcee Hasting has penned a letter to the USAID expressing his concern over the humanitarian aid going to Venezuela, but nothing more.
Rep, Ted Deutch (D) had solely been focused on gun control, and pushing for stricter legislation on background check and the Mueller investigation.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) has focused on just about every other issue, including immigration, border wall, Trump Administration, and the Mueller investigation, except for the Venezuelan issue.
Wasserman Schultz, who represents “Westonzuela” and attended the aforementioned pro-Venezuela meeting in Weston, tweeted out 4 days ago her disgust over Maduro burning aid.
That’s it.
Republican Rep. Brian Mast (pictured) hasn’t once mentioned the Venezuelan crisis in the past week, rather focusing on the water issue that is centric his congressional district.
If this crisis escalates, and it will, these silent voices in congress could eventually wake up to what authorize U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
