Madam Speaker, today I rise for those who cannot speak freely in Venezuela. Widespread demonstrations have broken out throughout Venezuela to protest an oppressive regime that seeks to silence the people and deny their fundamental freedoms of expression and the right to assembly. After years under Chavez and now Maduro, those brave men and women are expressing themselves in a united, clear voice that what they want is what should be rightfully theirs: respect for human rights and a true democracy in Venezuela. In response, as you can see here, Maduro and his thugs treat them like criminals. Over the past weeks, Madam Speaker, 14 people have been killed by Maduro's forces; over 100 have been unjustly detained. But because Maduro controls the major media outlets, he has silenced many of those who attempt to draw attention to the plight of the Venezuelan people and instead cast the blame on the United States for all of the country's ills. The nerve of him. Blaming the United States for his own domestic problems seems to be the modus operandi for Maduro, but the Venezuelan people are smarter than that. They recognize that this is just another scheme of Maduro's. The regime tried to silence its people by blocking images on Twitter, as Venezuelans turn to social media to show the world the ugly reality that they are going through.…
Share & report
More from Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, Chairman Royce, and I commend both the Speaker and Ranking Member Engel. I am going to miss serving with you, Eliot, as Chairman Royce and I say bye-bye in just a few weeks. But I thank them for always…
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the United States must continue to reassure the nations of the Asia-Pacific region of the enduring commitment of the United States to being a peaceful presence in the…
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 6219. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Florida? There was no…
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Indo-Pacific region is of critical importance to the United States. It is home to some of our most urgent security challenges, our closest people-to-people links, and…





