Second anti-Venezuela Resolution to be introduced US House of Representatives

by Eric Wingerter
US Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) intends to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives, Wednesday, condemning Venezuela for supposedly not cooperating with the United States in the fight against narco-trafficking.

Much like Connie Mack’s anti-Venezuela resolution, introduced earlier this year, the Burton Resolution is also filled with distorted facts and half-truths that paint an inaccurate picture of the situation.

As a concerned VHeadline.com reader you can contact your House representative in three ways to express your dissatisfaction:

1) Send a letter to your representative. If you are not sure who your representative is, it’s ok! The VIO software will automatically identify your representative based on your home zip code.

2) Call your Representative to tell him/her that this ill-conceived legislation is filled with inaccuracies and will do nothing to improve US-Venezuela relations ... the Congressional Switchboard can patch you through ... just call 202-224-3121.

3) Share this alert with your friends and colleagues. Please pass it on far and wide.

Last March, your faxes and phone calls convinced Rep. Mack to pull his anti-Venezuela legislation. Your help is needed again, because the stakes could be even higher.

What the Burton Resolution Says:

The resolution argues that Venezuela is not doing enough to combat drug trafficking. While it is non-binding, the strategy is to create a public record of condemnation that may be used to justify more direct measures against Venezuela in the future.

Like the Mack Resolution, it is another tool to discredit the Venezuelan government during an election year and even to justify intervention.

Also like the Mack Resolution, it is based on some conspicuously bad information:

1) The Burton Resolution claims that drug trafficking “significantly increased” in Venezuela last year. In reality, Venezuelan drug seizures were on the increase, meaning that enforcement was way up, not an increase in trafficking.

2) The resolution cites a high-profile case of an airplane filled with cocaine that was seized in Mexico last month as an example of Venezuela’s supposed lack of enforcement. The implication simply ignores the fact that tips from Venezuelan officials led to seizure in the first place.

3) The resolution claims that the Venezuelan government does not publicize its drug seizure statistics, which is simply a false statement.

There are many more distorted facts in the resolution ... check the facts!