; Whereas, on March 23, 2017, fourteen OAS Member States published a joint statement calling for the Government of Venezuela to hold elections, restore the constitutional powers of the National Assembly, and release political prisoners; Whereas, on March 28, 2017, the OAS Permanent Council agreed by a vote of 20 in favor, 11 against, 2 abstentions, and 1 absent/nonvoting Member States to move forward in discussing the situation in Venezuela; Whereas, on March 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Venezuela stripped opposition leaders of the National Assembly of their parliamentary immunity and began to take steps to consider prosecuting them for treason; Whereas, on March 29, 2017, the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the democratically elected National Assembly and nullified the legislative branch’s ability to function; Whereas, on March 31, 2017, in the first major break of a sitting Venezuelan public official, Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz affirmed the Supreme Court’s actions had broken constitutional order ; Whereas, on March 31, 2017, Venezuelan citizens took to the streets protesting the Supreme Court’s breach of power; Whereas, on April 1, 2017, during an emergency meeting of the Mercosur countries, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay released a statement urging the Government of Venezuela to follow its constitution and guarantee the effective separation of powers ; and Whereas, on April 1, 2017, the Supreme Court reversed its earlier decisions taking over the National Assembly’s legislative powers and stripping the legislators of their parliamentary immunity: Now, therefore, be it