Senate Resolution Demands Free Elections in Venezuela, Drew Bipartisan Sponsors
The Senate measure tests whether bipartisan pressure on Venezuela's government translates into a durable U.S. foreign-policy position ahead of the 2026 midterm cycle.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution calling for free and fair elections in Venezuela, according to reporting by La Nacion published in August 2026. The resolution was led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), making it one of the few recent Senate measures on Venezuela to carry sponsors from both parties. The text of the resolution, as described in La Nacion's reporting, calls for elections to be conducted under transparent conditions. The specific procedural posture of the resolution — whether it has been referred to committee, received a floor vote, or remains in introduction status — was not confirmed in available public records as of August 6, 2026. The Senate legislative record in the Congressional Record would reflect its current status.
Sen. Scott, who represents Florida — a state with a large Venezuelan-American diaspora — stated publicly that Venezuela deserved free elections and that he would continue to press the issue, according to the La Nacion report. Scott has previously introduced or co-sponsored multiple measures related to Venezuela and Latin American governance, though the precise count of such filings is drawn from Senate records accessible via Congress.gov. Cruz has similarly been a consistent sponsor of Venezuela-related legislation in prior Congresses, a pattern documented in the Congressional Record.
The resolution comes more than seven months after what La Nacion described as the detention of Nicolás Maduro, a claim The Congressional Times cannot independently verify through a U.S. court filing, State Department statement, or official congressional record as of this publication date. Readers should consult the State Department's official Venezuela country reports and press statements for confirmed U.S. government characterizations of Maduro's legal status.
The Iowa Senate race, Rhine River drought, and consumer retail items cited in contemporaneous source materials fall outside the scope of this story. What remains unknown: the full list of co-sponsors, the committee referral, and whether the resolution has received a companion measure in the House. The full resolution text, when published, would appear on Congress.gov under its assigned bill or resolution number.