Bob Menendez: “I thank my distinguished colleague from Oregon for his courtesy in allowing me to do so. I agree with everything my…”

“I thank my distinguished colleague from Oregon for his courtesy in allowing me to do so. I agree with everything my colleague from Florida Senator Rubio has said about this issue, and I appreciate his leadership alongside with us. He has been following Venezuela intimately. So many people in the State of Florida have exiled there, and so he personally understands this issue and he has been a tremendous champion. Since February of this year, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan citizens have protested about the lack of security from rampant crime and violence and an inflation rate that is the highest in the world and a scarcity of food and basic consumer goods that has become part of their daily lives. But instead of listening to the legitimate concerns of its people, the Government of Venezuela has responded with a deplorable display of force and brutality that was seen around the world. To date there have been more than 40 deaths, more than 50 documented cases of torture, and more than 2,000 unlawful detentions. In May of this year Human Rights Watch released a report on these human rights violations. The report documented how Venezuelan security forces systematically violated the rights of students, women, men, members of the political opposition, and journalists. They said they did so ``to punish people for their political views.'' Last week the Venezuelan Government opened its show trial against opposition leader and prisoner of conscience Leopoldo Lopez.…”