House passes Venezuela sanctions bill to punish Maduro regime

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s bill to impose sanctions on Venezuela passed in the House on Wednesday. (Twitter/@RosLehtinen)

The bill comes in response to the anti-government demonstrations in Venezuela that have left hundreds injured and more than 40 people dead, including Venezuelan beauty queen Genesis Carmona. Protestors have accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government of the violence.

The violent demonstrations began on Feb. 12 as Venezuela celebrated National Youth Day. That day, hundreds of students took to the streets all across Venezuela to protest Maduro’s inability to stem violent crime and improve the country’s economy, which has been marred by soaring inflation and shortages of goods.

“Since then, these students and the Venezuelan people as a whole have been met with intimidation, with violence, with imprisonment simply for calling for the respect of human rights and democratic change,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

Ros-Lehtinen’s bill has bipartisan backing. Its supporters include Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who also took to the House floor on Wednesday to speak in support of imposing sanctions on Venezuela.

SEE ALSO: Venezuela violence missing from U.S, media coverage

Castro noted that in March, the House passed a resolution that encouraged “a process of dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the political opposition to end the violence.”

“I continue to believe that dialogue is the best way out of this crisis,” Castro said. “In the meantime, the legislation that we are considering today makes it clear that the United States will not turn a blind eye to human rights violations.”

Ros-Lehtinen’s bill now heads to the Senate for a vote. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a similar bill proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

The idea of imposing sanctions against Venezuela faces opposition from Obama administration officials who, according to the Associated Press, say sanctions risk undermining mediation efforts in Venezuela and straining relations between the U.S. and Latin American partners.

Maduro also expressed opposition to the proposed sanctions on Tuesday through his radio and television show dubbed “In Contact With Maduro.”

“Any law approved by U.S. Congress to sanction Venezuela is illegitimate, and we won’t recognize it,” the Venezuelan president said. “We reject it, and we’ll fight it around the world.”

SEE ALSO: What’s next for the ongoing crisis in Venezuela?