U.S. Congresswomen introduce legislation to investigate Venezuela's benefits from Iran nuclear deal

Congresswomen María Elvira Salazar and Stephanie Murphy introduced on Thursday the INVESTIGAR Act to find out how Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela would benefit from a new nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran.

"Government Accountability Reporting on Iran and Venezuela Energy, Sanctions and Terrorism" (INVESTIGATE Act) is a bipartisan effort led by Republican legislator Salazar and Democrat Murphy, both representing Florida districts.

The INVESTIGATE Act would require the Biden Administration to produce a report detailing what the Maduro government of Venezuela could gain from a new nuclear deal with Iran, explains a statement.

Specifically, it requires the White House to report on the potential benefits to Nicolás Maduro's oil industry, how it could help the regime avoid U.S. sanctions, and "how it would boost Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations."

According to the legislation, the report must be delivered to the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees within 14 days of reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran.

"For years, the Iranian and Venezuelan regimes have been united by their hatred of the United States. Iran has enlisted Venezuela as its proxy for terror, including supplying its government with advanced drones for use against the United States, Colombia, and Jewish communities throughout the Western Hemisphere," said Congresswoman Salazar.

"A new nuclear deal would not only arm a U.S. enemy with nuclear weapons, it would also empower Nicolas Maduro in our own region. If President Biden moves forward with the new agreement, he must understand the disastrous external impacts the negotiation will have within our own region," she added.

"As the Biden Administration considers whether to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal‚—along with Russia and China—it is critical that the Administration consider, not only the potential advantages of the deal for U.S. national security, but also the very real disadvantages," said Representative Murphy.

According to the Democratic Congresswoman, "unfreezing Iranian assets could allow Iran to increase support for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the murderous Maduro regime in Venezuela. The United States needs to be clear-eyed about these threats." 

"There is no doubt that any agreement with Iran negotiated by Russia and China on behalf of President Biden would help Nicolás Maduro maintain his dominance over Venezuela. Both Russia and China are strong allies of the regime… with Venezuela being an important component of its geopolitical strategy to invade the Western Hemisphere," expressed U.S. Rep.  Carlos Giménez.

Other co-sponsors of the bill include U.S. Reps. Michael Waltz (FL-06), Jenniffer González-Colón (PR-AL), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-25), Alex Mooney (WV-02), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Scott Franklin (FL-15), and David McKinley (WV-01).

Since the beginning of the so-called "Bolivarian Revolution" in the early 2000s, the Venezuelan regime has had close ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Persian country continues to prop up Nicolás Maduro's declining oil industry with advice and imports.

Meanwhile, Tehran is sending Caracas "military and surveillance equipment, including 12 Ghod Mohajer drones, for use against the United States in its own hemisphere," the representative’s statement said.