Chair Cardin, Kaine to Introduce VERDAD Act to Hold Maduro Regime Accountable

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, announced their intention to introduce the most comprehensive legislative proposal yet to hold Nicolás Maduro’s oppressive regime accountable for its ongoing crackdown on the Venezuelan people and continued efforts to steal the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela. 

The Support the Venezuelan Electorate’s Rejection of Dictatorship and Aspiration for Democracy (VERDAD) Act of 2024 officially recognizes Edmundo González as the rightful winner of the July 28 presidential election and makes it U.S. policy to support a peaceful transition of power to González and Maria Corina Machado. The bill outlines clear incentives and consequences aimed at pressuring Maduro and his enablers to respect the democratic will of the Venezuelan people. It also includes measures to increase humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, prepare for the country’s reconstruction after a transition to democracy, and combat illicit mining, drug trafficking, and other criminal enterprises supporting the Maduro regime’s relentless attacks on human rights. 

“As I told Maria Corina Machado during our recent phone call, my support – and that of my colleagues in the U.S. Congress – for the Venezuelan people is unwavering,” said Chair Cardin. “The United States must now lead by imposing clear consequences on Maduro for his fraudulent actions and arbitrary detentions, and work together towards a prosperous post-Maduro Venezuela. We look forward to working with our Republican colleagues in both chambers in the days ahead to advance this bill and together push for a free Venezuela where democracy thrives, human rights are upheld, and the Venezuelan people can shape their own future.”

“The Maduro regime’s brazen disregard for democratic institutions, rule of law, and human rights has created the largest displacement crisis in Latin America, exacerbating migration in our hemisphere. We cannot stand by as Maduro continues to defy the will of the Venezuelan people, and as Venezuelans suffer from rampant violence and shortages of basic goods like food and medicine,” said Senator Kaine. “This bill will advance democracy in Venezuela, expand humanitarian relief for Venezuelans, and improve economic conditions in the country—all of which are steps toward stability in the region.”  

A full section by section can be found HERE.

Key Provisions of the Support the VERDAD Act of 2024 include:

• Recognizes González as the rightful 2024 Venezuelan presidential election winner and establishes support for a democratic transition to González and Maria Corina Machado as official U.S. policy.
• Includes several targeted sanction provisions, including codifying executive orders, requiring additional targeted sanctions on regime officials engaged in repression and the undermining of democratic governance, strengthening the coordination of multilateral sanctions, and expanding targeted sanctions on Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and Cuban entities providing security support to Maduro.
• Provides a clear pathway for sanction waivers for those individuals who advance a democratic transition and end their complicity in human rights violations.
• Requires the U.S. Government to publicly publish a short, medium, and long-term framework for a democratic transition in Venezuela.
• Strengthens humanitarian, democratic, reintegration, and economic assistance to the Venezuelan people, including for IDB and IMF reconstruction efforts in a post-Maduro Venezuela.
• Establishes inter-agency strategies to counter malign information operations, illicit mining, and political persecution by the Maduro regime.
• Establishes a Venezuelan Forfeiture and Humanitarian Response Fund to repurpose forfeited assets from U.S. criminal cases against Venezuelan nationals to fund humanitarian responses.

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