John J. Faso: “As we plan to celebrate Independence Day on the Fourth of July, it is important for us also to recognize a human rights…”

“As we plan to celebrate Independence Day on the Fourth of July, it is important for us also to recognize a human rights tragedy and an abomination of democracy as totalitarian rulers of Venezuela are suppressing their people in our southern hemisphere. To call attention to this tragic situation where thousands of people are being suppressed, where armed mobs are running around the streets intimidating people, and where Venezuelans cannot achieve the basic necessities of life, I include in the Record an article that recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal, ``The Last Battle for Democracy in Venezuela,'' and to call attention to the human rights tragedy which is occurring in South America. [From The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2017] The Last Battle for Democracy in Venezuela Under Nicolas Maduro, a county that had been one of Latin America's wealthiest is having its democratic institutions shredded amid rising poverty and corruption (By David Luhnow and Jose de Cordoba) Almost two decades after Venezuela's late president, Hugo Chavez, came to power in an electoral landslide, his country's transformation seems to be taking an ominous new turn. A country that was once one of one America's wealthiest is seeing its democratic institutions collapse, leading to levels of disease, hunger and dysfunction more often seen in war-torn nations than oil-rich ones. Mr.…”