Congress has made it clear that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro's theft of his country's presidential elections near the end of July will not stand. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Jim Risch (R-ID) have made it clear in a new bill they introduced, strengthening sanctions on the regime until they become legitimately democratic.
Named the Venezuela Advancing Liberty, Opportunity, and Rights (VALOR) Act, Sen. Scott's bill has multiple provisions supporting Venezuela's transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, such as financial sanctions on the Venezuelan Central Bank, cryptocurrency, and its national oil and gas firm.
Other elements intend to isolate the South American country on the world stage, cutting off its access to the Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund and relinquishing American foreign aid to countries that support Venezuela financially (except for humanitarian reasons).
The third grouping of provisions, which includes the guidelines for how Venezuela can be relieved of those sanctions, outlines the creation of an emergency fund for election observers and human rights monitors, a requirement for the president to develop an economic assistance plan for a democratically governed Venezuela and place a "coordinating official" within the State Department to oversee development and implementation of such a plan and report to Congress how the United States will invest in this possible future regime.
"For years, I have urged President Biden and Vice President Harris to put the full weight of the federal government behind the Venezuelan people's fight for democracy through free and fair elections, and at every turn, the Biden-Harris administration has chosen to stand with Maduro by easing sanctions and failing to recognize Edmundo González Urrutia as the president-elect. The time is now for Maduro to leave office and allow the Venezuelan people to be free from his dictatorship. The United States must be a leader in bringing freedom and democracy to Venezuela, and the VALOR Act is a step in the right direction," said Sen. Scott in his press release.
Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) introduced the VALOR Act's House counterpart in a display of bipartisan condemnation of Maduro's election theft.
"America cannot wait any longer as Maduro finalizes his theft of Venezuela's election. The United States must send the message that Maduro's time in Miraflores is up and that Edmundo González will take his rightful office in January. No more money for the Chavistas and their repressive apparatus," said Rep. Salazar.
"Venezuelans courageously took to the ballot box to seek true, legitimate representation after a lost decade under Maduro. Despite violent repression, overwhelming majorities repudiated Maduro and chose President-elect Edmundo González. But this brutal regime refuses to face reality despite clear evidence proving Maduro's loss. The Biden-Harris Administration successfully forced Maduro to hold this election. Now, the United States must ensure consequences for Maduro's attempt to overturn the will of the voters and support a democratic future for all Venezuelans," Rep. Wasserman Schultz added.
