Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1) On July 28, 2024, more than 10,000,000 citizens of Venezuela voted in a presidential election in which meticulously documented and publicized data from credible election monitors clearly and convincingly showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more than two-thirds of the votes against the regime of Nicolas Maduro. (2) The 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. (3) Despite overwhelming evidence that Edmundo Gonzalez won a decisive victory to be Venezuela’s next president, the Maduro regime ignored the results of the election and the law of Venezuela by forcibly refusing to allow Gonzalez to be sworn in on Venezuela’s January 10, 2025, inauguration day.