[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 987 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 987
Denouncing Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian, despotic, and murderous
regime and commending President Trump for taking decisive action long
called for by Members of Congress.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 12, 2026
Mr. Crawford (for himself, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Steube, Mr. Austin Scott of
Georgia, Mr. LaHood, and Mr. Kelly of Mississippi) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Denouncing Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian, despotic, and murderous
regime and commending President Trump for taking decisive action long
called for by Members of Congress.
Whereas President Trump ordered United States law enforcement, military, and
intelligence community assets to conduct the gallant and courageous
special operation of January 3, 2026, to arrest and exfiltrate the
former dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, ensuring he is finally
held accountable for his brutal narcoterrorism and crimes against
humanity;
Whereas the House of Representatives supports the Nation's intrepid intelligence
community, law enforcement, and military in their successful operation
to bring to justice a tyrant whose cartel trafficking has led to the
death of untold scores of Americans and similar destruction of other
nations' citizenry;
Whereas the House of Representatives wholeheartedly endorses a president of the
United States finally taking action to bring to an auspicious end this
period of terrible Venezuelan history that for years has been met with
inaction by prior administrations;
Whereas the proud Venezuelan people are on the precipice of experiencing long-
denied freedom and are grateful to the brave men and women who
meticulously prepared and executed a mission that finally removed a
cancer on the world;
Whereas President Trump has now condemned Maduro's Socialist advances, which
always and without fail, culminated in violence and terror, to the
dustbin of history;
Whereas sadly, in the aftermath of Nicolas Maduro's arrest, Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries said, ``[t]his wasn't a law enforcement action . . .
[t]hey're lying to the American people when they say that'';
Representative Delia Ramirez posted on X, ``[u]nder the guise of
liberty, an administration of warmongers has lied to justify an invasion
and is dragging us into an illegal, endless war''; Representative Dan
Goldman stated ``[t]his violation of the United States Constitution is
an impeachable offense''; Representative John Garamendi stated ``in
direct violation of the United States Constitution, President Trump
illegally attacked Venezuela's capital and seized Nicolas Maduro''; and
Representative Eric Swallwell said ``[w]hat this president has done, in
the shortcuts that he has taken, is he's going to, one shortcut at a
time, put us in a fascist cul-de-sac''; thereby opposing and denouncing
the courageous actions of the Administration in arresting a drug
trafficker and human rights abuser;
Whereas these statements, and those similar to them, were understandably
disconcerting to Americans who believed that Democrats and Republicans
alike would be joyous and thankful for this Administration's decisive
and definitive intervention to remove Maduro's homicidal clutch on
power;
Whereas myriad pieces of legislation, in merely this Congress and the last
alone, have been introduced by Democrats highlighting Maduro's
antidemocratic efforts at quelling debate or political dissention
through threats and endless oppressive violence;
Whereas the former head of the House Democrats' election apparatus,
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, proposed legislation in this
Congress, H.R. 328, cosponsored by her colleague, Representative Thomas
Suozzi, restricting American energy investment in Venezuela until
legitimate results of Venezuela's last election are respected, included
the following powerful assertions, such as--
(1) ``[Venezuelan] opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more
than two-thirds of the votes against the regime of Nicolas Maduro'' and
that ``[t]he Maduro regime has refused to respect the overwhelming choice
of the people of Venezuela and subsequently arrested and abused thousands
of innocent citizens of Venezuela, including children, for peaceful
political participation''; and
(2) an assessment of the impact of waiving any energy investment
prohibitions on ``the ability of the regime of Nicolas Maduro or any
nondemocratic successor government in Venezuela to violate human rights,
engage in repression, or threaten the interests of the United States'';
Whereas Representative Haley Stevens introduced legislation in the 118th
Congress, H.R. 10255, with a companion bill introduced by Democratic
Senator Christopher Coons, S. 5340, requiring the Secretary of State to
brief Congress on whether ``Venezuela under the regime of Nicolas
Maduro'' ``should be designated as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or
Wrongful Detention'';
Whereas Representative Joaquin Castro, joined by his Democratic colleagues,
Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Dina Titus, Norma Torres, Sydney
Kamlager-Dove, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, and Delia Ramirez, introduced
legislation in the 118th Congress, H. Res. 1471, with a companion Senate
resolution, S. Res. 833, introduced by Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan,
joined by Democratic Senators Benjamin Cardin, Tim Kaine, Michael
Bennet, Mark Kelly, Mark Warner, Christopher Murphy, John Hickenlooper,
and Alex Padilla, to counter disinformation, propaganda, and
misinformation in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically
highlighting ``Venezuela, where actors linked to the regime of Nicolas
Maduro have engaged in a sustained and synchronized campaign of
disinformation to undermine the country's 2023-2024 electoral process,
invalidate the results of such elections, and attack Maria Corina
Machado and other opposition leaders, according to multiple sources,
including the Digital Forensic Research Lab'';
Whereas again, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, introduced legislation
in the 118th Congress, H. Res. 1409, with her Democratic colleagues,
Representative Frederica Wilson, (Senator) Ruben Gallego, Bradley
Schneider, Vicente Gonzalez, Gerald Connolly (deceased), (Senator) Andy
Kim, Juan Vargas, Sylvia Garcia, Norma Torres, Kathy Manning, Greg
Stanton, Brendan Boyle, (Senator) Adam Schiff, Mike Levin, and Ted Lieu,
stating--
(1) that the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election ``was preceded by
over a decade of violent repression and persecution of political opponents,
elimination of checks and balances, capture of state institutions,
extrajudicial murder, arbitrary detention and torture, curtailed freedom of
expression and the press, and systematic abuse of power by Nicolas Maduro
and his regime'';
(2) that ``the Maduro regime barred several groups of independent
electoral observers from entering the country to monitor the election'';
(3) that the ``regime has arbitrarily detained, forcefully disappeared,
or forced into exile thousands of opposition political organizers,
activists, human rights defenders, and others perceived to be critical of
Maduro's illegitimate rule in Venezuela'';
(4) that ``the Maduro regime currently holds more than 270 political
prisoners and has conducted over 15,000 politically motivated arbitrary
arrests over the last decade in Venezuela'';
(5) that ``Nicolas Maduro stated prior to the election that he had no
intention of accepting defeat or providing for a peaceful transition of
power'';
(6) that ``the United States determined that these arbitrary and
unconstitutional actions by the Maduro regime violated the terms of the
Barbados Agreement, which provided for certain electoral conditions to be
met and was signed by the regime and the opposition democratic Unitary
Platform'';
(7) that ``hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who gathered to
peacefully protest the Maduro regime's attempt to steal the election were
met with arbitrary force and violent repression that has left hundreds
arrested, at least 16 dead, and hundreds injured'';
(8) that ``the Maduro regime has issued arrest warrants for Maria
Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez on false criminal charges'';
(9) that it condemns ``the Maduro regime's cowardly and destructive
attempt to steal the election and undermine the will of the Venezuelan
people'';
(10) that it ``denounces the Maduro regime's violent repression of
Venezuelans peacefully demonstrating in support of democracy''; and
(11) that ``calls for the imposition of new sanctions on the Maduro
regime as well as sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in
subverting democracy and repressing the opposition, including foreign
governments and non-state entities assisting the regime's election
subversion and repression'';
Whereas then-Representative (Senator) Elissa Slotkin introduced legislation in
the 118th Congress, H.R. 8741, that defined ``Venezuelan politician
Nicolas Maduro'' as a person of concern who has engaged in a ``long-term
pattern or serious instances of activity adverse to the national
security of the United States, the security of critical infrastructure
of the United States, or the safety and security of United States
persons'';
Whereas again, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced legislation in
the 118th Congress, H.R. 5670, known as the ``Venezuelans Overcoming
Interference and Corruption in Elections Act'', joined by her Democratic
colleagues, Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Ted Lieu, Kathy
Castor, Darren Soto, Jared Moskowitz, and Frederica Wilson, that
included--
(1) a sense of Congress asserting, ``the arbitrary and unconstitutional
actions of the Maduro regime to undermine Venezuelan democracy, including
attempts to disqualify opposition candidates from participating in the 2024
presidential election, demonstrate flagrant disregard for the basic
political rights of Venezuelans and merit condemnation in the strongest
terms from the United States and other Western Hemisphere democracies'';
(2) assertions that ``[t]he disqualification of political opponents
illustrates the Maduro regime's intent to continue to remove checks and
balances on the executive, politicize the judiciary, undermine the
independence of the legislature through use of executive decree powers,
persecute and prosecute its political opponents, curtail freedom of the
press, and limit the free expression of its citizens'';
(3) condemnation of the Maduro regime that has ``committed crimes
against humanity as evidenced by the Independent International Fact-Finding
Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela established by the United
Nations Human Rights Council, in the report of such mission published in
October 2022''; and
(4) calling for ``an end to the usurpation of presidential authorities
by Nicolas Maduro'';
Whereas again, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced legislation in
the 118th Congress, H.R. 4086, joined by her Democratic colleagues in
the House, Representatives Joaquin Castro, Darren Soto, Jared Moskowitz,
Kathy Castor, Nannette Diaz Barragan, Lois Frankel, Ted Lieu, Brad
Sherman, and Maxwell Frost, with companion Senate legislation, S. 1931,
sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine, Benjamin Cardin, and Richard Durbin,
urged once again, through a resolution, ``ending Nicolas Maduro's
usurpation of presidential authorities'', also finding ``Marta Valinas,
Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, stated in January 2023 that the
Maduro regime's proposed law restricting the activities of
nongovernmental organizations [`]could represent a point of no return in
the closure of the civic and democratic space['] and noted that
organizations working in the areas of human rights in Venezuela are
facing increased legal and operational hurdles, including surveillance
by Venezuelan intelligence services and diminished access to funding'';
and
Whereas Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced legislation in the 118th
Congress, H.R. 3136, joined by her Democratic colleagues, former
Representatives Bill Pascrell and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger,
Representatives Andre Carson, Jill Tokuda, and Brad Sherman, defining
``the regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela'' as a ``country of
concern'' that is ``engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances
of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United
States or the security and safety of United States persons'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) a broad coalition of the House of Representatives has
long held that Nicolas Maduro is a threat to the national
security of the United States and the well-being of the people
of Venezuela;
(2) the House of Representatives applauds the United States
actions to arrest him pursuant to a grand jury indictment; and
(3) the House of Representatives recognizes President
Trump's leadership in expediting Maduro's demise.
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