María Elvira Salazar U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 27th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
María Elvira Salazar U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 27th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 825, known as the "Bolivarian Oppression Limitation Involving Various Authoritarian Regimes" or BOLIVAR Act. This legislation was co-sponsored by Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL).
The bill comes nearly four months after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro allegedly attempted to manipulate the July 28 presidential elections. The United States has expressed support for opposition figures María Corina Machado and elected President Edmundo González Urrutia.
Representatives Mike Waltz (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) led efforts on the BOLIVAR Act, which aims to freeze additional assets accessible to Maduro's government.
“Al aprobar la Ley BOLIVAR, la Cámara de Representantes está enviando el mensaje claro de que Estados Unidos nunca hará negocios con un tirano como Maduro,” said Representative Salazar, who chairs the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Edmundo González Urrutia ganó las elecciones en julio, incluso después de que Maduro hiciera trampa, y ninguna cantidad de represión ocultará esa simple verdad al pueblo venezolano. El tiempo de Maduro se acabó, y él lo sabe.”
Since the July elections, Congresswoman Salazar has supported Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado in their fight for freedom. She joined a bipartisan group to introduce the REVOKE Act and VALOR Act aimed at cutting financial support for Maduro's regime amid increasing repression against opposition leaders nationwide.
Salazar also spearheaded the reauthorization of sanctions through the TRUTH Reauthorization Act following the 2019 TRUTH Act.
For more details on the BOLIVAR Act text, click here.
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