MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Venezuela

16.9.2024 - (2024/2810(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 136(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Hermann Tertsch, Anders Vistisen, Jorge Martín Frías, António Tânger Corrêa, Klara Dostalova, Ondřej Knotek, Jaroslav Bžoch, Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová, Jana Nagyová, Silvia Sardone
on behalf of the PfE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B10-0023/2024

B10‑0027/2024

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Venezuela

(2024/2810(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Venezuela,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 17 October 2023, the Venezuelan regime reached a deal (the ‘Barbados Agreement’) with the political opposition; whereas this agreement covered important topics, such as allowing international observers to participate in the electoral process; whereas the agreement was signed to ensure free and fair elections in Venezuela;

B. whereas previous elections in Venezuela, also including the 2018 presidential contest, have not received official recognition amid allegations of widespread intimidation, irregularities and massive fraud by Nicolás Maduro’s regime;

C. whereas in its resolution approved on 13 July 2023 on the political disqualifications in Venezuela[1], the European Parliament strongly condemned the political disqualifications of candidates by the Venezuelan regime; whereas this resolution specifically condemned the arbitrary and unconstitutional 15-year disqualification of María Corina Machado and other prominent political figures and deplored the fact that the recommendations of the last EU Election Observation Mission had been completely ignored;

D. whereas before the elections several countries stated their deep concern over the Venezuelan regime’s interference in the composition of the National Electoral Council (CNE); whereas the regime-controlled National Assembly elected all new members of the CNE in August 2023;

E. whereas in the presidential election held on 28 July 2024, the processing of the votes and the announcement of the results by the Maduro-controlled CNE were deeply flawed, leading to an outcome that does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people being announced for which no supporting evidence was given; whereas, as a consequence, the electoral result proclaimed by the CNE cannot be legitimised, since it was the result of massive fraud;

F. whereas the democratic opposition has published more than 80 % of the tally sheets received directly from polling stations throughout Venezuela; whereas these tally sheets indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s presidential election on 28 July by an insurmountable margin; whereas independent observers have corroborated these facts;

G. whereas the abovementioned and other incontrovertible evidence indicate that the undisputed winner of the presidential election and legitimate newly elected president of Venezuela is Edmundo González Urrutia;

H. whereas Venezuela is governed by an authoritarian regime that is repressing the political opposition and human rights defenders; whereas the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and its international fact-finding mission have documented numerous killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, instances of torture and ill treatment of opponents of the Maduro regime, which can be considered crimes against humanity;

I. whereas political prisoners in Venezuela face inhumane prison conditions and systematic torture, and the regime is denying them critical healthcare;

J. whereas the Venezuelan regime is supported by international actors and countries, such as Cuba and Nicaragua, most of them represented in the Foro de São Paulo and the Grupo de Puebla; whereas Venezuela, together with Cuba, is Russia’s and Iran’s most important trading, political and military ally in Latin America;

K. whereas since the presidential election, Maduro’s regime has escalated its crackdown on the political opposition; whereas, on 2 September 2024, Venezuela’s attorney general’s office announced that a court had issued an arrest warrant for the opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes;

L. whereas the Maduro regime’s repression of the opposition drove Edmundo González to leave the country and seek asylum in Spain, with the aim of protecting his freedom, integrity and life;

1. Condemns the massive electoral fraud perpetrated by the Venezuelan regime during the presidential elections on 28 July this year and does not recognise the false victory proclaimed by Nicolás Maduro and his proxies;

2. Acknowledges Edmundo González Urrutia as the newly elected and legitimate president of the Republic of Venezuela;

3. Calls for the EU, in particular the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Josep Borrell, and the EU Member States to recognise Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president of the Republic of Venezuela;

4. Deplores the continuous repression by the Venezuelan regime of opposition figures, including torture, enforced disappearances and killings; reiterates its firm and unconditional support for the Venezuelan people;

5. Requests the unconditional and immediate release of all the political prisoners unjustly and arbitrarily imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime;

6. Deplores Venezuela’s alignment with Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran and other dictatorial regimes;

7. Calls on the international community and for the EU, in particular the VP/HR, and the Member States to impose further targeted sanctions against those individuals from the Venezuelan regime and its proxies responsible for human rights violations against the Venezuelan people; calls for the EU to suspend all funds and projects destined for Venezuela; calls for the EU to freeze and confiscate, under a sound legal regime, all funds and economic resources on EU territory belonging to, owned, held or controlled by Nicolas Maduro or the Venezuelan state, or any other members of the Venezuelan regime responsible for human rights violations and electoral fraud;

8. Fully supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations into the extensive crimes and acts of repression perpetrated by the Venezuelan regime; urges the ICC prosecutor to act with diligence; calls for the EU to support the ICC States Parties’ initiative to open an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime and its proxies, especially those committed by President Nicolás Maduro and Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, in order to hold them to account;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States.

 

 

• [1] OJ C, C/2024/4008, 17.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4008/oj.