On the recordJuly 25, 2019
This is an outrageous and truly insulting amendment meant to do nothing more than to score cheap political points. Let's be clear, Republicans are offering this amendment to take a stand against a socialist dictator, but they plan to vote against this bill, a bill that does nothing more than protect people from that very dictator. In other words, Republicans want to say that they support the Venezuelan people, but they are completely unwilling to do anything for them. I have just one thing to say to my Republican colleagues: Venezuelans don't need your empty words. They need action now. Let's be clear: Every American opposes dictatorial oppression, whether it comes from the far left or from the far right. In South America, we have seen dictators from the right and the left, like Augusto Pinochet in Chile or Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina, both of whom killed and disappeared thousands of their own citizens in pursuit of rightwing agendas. During those regimes, we condemned dictators. I hope you remember those times, Mr. Speaker. We did not use the tragedy of the people to score cheap political points. We all oppose dictatorship and tyranny. It is what binds us together as Americans. Coming from South America, I understand very well what happens when we see a dictator rise, when it goes unchecked. Instead of honoring democratic principles, this amendment uses it as a political weapon to divide our Nation.…
