Cortez Masto Demands State Department Report on Human Rights Abuses in Venezuela

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto joined Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding the U.S. Department of State share an assessment detailing Venezuela's human rights violations under Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. The letter also calls for the State Department to commit to preventing additional human rights abuses in Venezuela.

"The Trump administration's increased support of the same officials who contributed to the Venezuelan government's lengthy and well-documented record of human rights abuses and violations is alarming, and we urge the State Department to re-commit to its long-standing practice of calling attention to human rights violations committed by the Venezuelan regime and exerting pressure on regime officials to end these abuses," wrote the Senators.

The Senators are seeking a record of the United States' actions to address human rights abuses in Venezuela to ensure no American foreign aid funding, including security or economic assistance, contributes to the human rights violations committed by the country's regime.

"Unfortunately, the United States has stood by Rodríguez after her regime ignored its constitutional requirement to hold a presidential election within thirty days of the expiration of her 90-day temporary role as acting president in early April. Administration officials have also reportedly assisted the regime's efforts to obstruct opposition leader María Corina Machado's return to Venezuela, despite previously recognizing her party's 2024 electoral victory. The United States' continued support for Rodríguez despite her extra-constitutional hold on power is an implicit endorsement of her regime's violation of Venezuelans' political rights," the Senators continued.

"Congress will continue to conduct rigorous oversight of the Administration's efforts to support the Rodriguez regime. Should the State Department refuse to address the Venezuelan government's human rights violations by the time the immediate earthquake recovery efforts conclude, we will consider using all available tools to require such a report, including Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act," the Senators concluded.

Read the full letter here. Additional signatories include Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Senator Cortez Masto remains committed to making sure that American foreign policy protects our national security while upholding human rights around the world. The Senator introduced legislation which would require the Trump Administration to produce a report detailing Honduras's human rights violations under former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who President Trump gave a "full and complete pardon" in December of 2025. Following reports that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to target American military forces, Cortez Masto passed her bipartisan HONOR Act in the Senate to prevent businesses from claiming a foreign tax credit or deduction against taxes paid to fund the Russian government's war machine. She joined a letter requesting the Department of Defense provide answers to the American people on the airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran and civilian casualties in the Trump Administration's war on Iran, as well as accountability for those responsible.

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