H.Res. 987

[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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