On February 15, 2009, Venezuelans voted in a national referendum to approve a constitutional amendment abolishing term limits for elected local, state, and national officials, including for the President. (See " November 2008 State and Local Elections " below.) On September 11, 2008, President Chávez announced that he was expelling the U.S. Under President Chávez, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution in place and even a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, named after the 19 th century South American liberator Simon Bolivar, whom Chávez often invokes. The government benefitted from the rise in world oil prices, which increased government revenues and sparked an economic boom. This would allow him to run for re-election in 2012 and beyond. The Chávez government has also continued to threaten opposition media with closure. Human Rights Concerns

Human rights organizations and U.S. officials have expressed concerns for several years about the deterioration of democratic institutions and threats to freedom of speech and press in Venezuela under the Chávez government. In the 111 th Congress, two resolutions have been introduced that would express concern about anti-Semitism in Venezuela: H.Res. U.S. Policy

		Overview of U.S.-Venezuelan Relations

The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, the fourth major supplier of foreign oil to the United States, but there has been significant friction with the Chávez government. Over the past several years, U.S. officials have expressed concerns about human rights, Venezuela's military arms purchases (largely from Russia), its relations with Cuba and Iran, and its efforts to export its brand of populism to other Latin American countries. Under the Obama Administration, Venezuela and the United States announced an agreement on June 25, 2009, for the return of respective ambassadors. While some observers are hopeful that the return of ambassadors will mark an improvement in relations, others emphasize continued U.S. concerns about the Venezuelan government's treatment of the news media and political opposition and about interference in the affairs of other countries in the region. Ambassador as soon as the United States has a new Administration. As a result, Chávez was able to increase government expenditures on anti-poverty and other social programs associated with his populist agenda. Legislative Initiatives

			111th Congress

On July 22, 2009, the Senate approved S.Amdt. 1536 (Martinez) to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, S. 1390 , that requires the Director of National Intelligence to provide a report on Venezuela to the defense and intelligence committees within 180 days of the enactment of the Act. The required report is to address the following topics: (1) an inventory of all weapons purchases by, and transfers to, the government of Venezuela and Venezuela's transfers to other countries since 1998; (2) the mining and shipping of Venezuelan uranium to Iran, North Korea, and other states suspected of nuclear proliferation; (3) the extent to which Hugo Chávez and other Venezuelan officials and supporters of the Venezuelan government provide political counsel, collaboration financial ties, refuge, and other forms of support, including military materiel, to the FARC; (4) the extent to which Hugo Chávez and other Venezuelan officials provide funding, logistical and political support to the Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah; (5) deployment of Venezuelan security or intelligence personnel to Bolivia, including any role such personnel have in suppressing opponents of the government of Bolivia; (6) Venezuela's clandestine material support for political movements and individuals throughout the Western Hemisphere with the objective of influencing the internal affairs of Western Hemisphere nations; (7) efforts by Hugo Chávez and other officials or supporters of the Venezuelan government to convert or launder funds that are the property of Venezuelan government agencies, instrumentalities, parastatals, including PdVSA; and (8) covert payments by Hugo Chávez or other officials or supporters of the Venezuelan government to foreign political candidates, government officials, or officials of international organizations for the purpose of influencing the performance of their official duties. Several resolutions and bills related to Venezuela have also been introduced in the 111 th Congress. H.R. 375 (Ros-Lehtinen), introduced January 9, 2009 as the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism and Nonproliferation Act of 2009, would, among its provisions, place restrictions on nuclear cooperation with countries assisting the nuclear programs of Venezuela or Cuba (section 209). H.R. 375 described above that would place restrictions on nuclear cooperation with countries assisting the nuclear programs of Venezuela or Cuba. H.Con.Res. H.R.
Under the populist rule of President Hugo Chávez, first elected in 1998 and reelected to a six-year term in December 2006, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution and unicameral legislature, and a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. U.S. officials and human rights organizations have expressed concerns about the deterioration of democratic institutions and threats to freedom of expression under President Chávez, who has survived several attempts to remove him from power. The government benefitted from the rise in world oil prices, which sparked an economic boom and allowed Chávez to increase expenditures on social programs associated with his populist agenda.
After he was reelected, Chávez announced new measures to move the country toward socialism, but his May 2007 closure of a popular Venezuelan television station (RCTV) that was critical of the government sparked protests, and his proposed constitutional amendment package was defeated by a close margin in a December 2007 national referendum. State and local elections held in November 2008 were a mixed picture of support for the government, with the opposition winning several key contests. In February 2009, Venezuelans approved a controversial constitutional referendum that abolished term limits and allows Chávez to run for re-election in 2012 and beyond. In 2009, the government has increased efforts to suppress the political opposition, including elected officials, and is continuing to threaten media critical of the government.
The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, the fourth major supplier of foreign oil to the United States, but there has been friction with the Chávez government. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about human rights, Venezuela's military arms purchases, its relations with Cuba and Iran, and its efforts to export its brand of populism to other Latin American countries. Declining cooperation on anti-drug and anti-terrorism efforts has also been a concern. In September 2008, bilateral relations worsened when President Chávez expelled the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, and the United States responded in kind. Under the Obama Administration, Venezuela and the United States reached an agreement in late June 2009 for the return of respective ambassadors. While some observers are hopeful that the return of ambassadors will mark an improvement in relations, others emphasize continued U.S. concerns about the Venezuelan government's treatment of the news media and political opposition and about interference in the affairs of other countries in the region.
To date in the 111th Congress, the Senate approved an amendment (S.Amdt. 1536) to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, S. 1390, that requires the Director of National Intelligence to provide a report on Venezuela's military purchases, potential support for terrorist groups, and other Venezuelan activities. In addition, several resolutions and bills related to Venezuela have been introduced: H.R. 375 would, among its provisions, place restrictions on nuclear cooperation with countries assisting the nuclear programs of Venezuela; H.R. 2475 includes a provision identical to that in H.R. 375 described above that would place restrictions on nuclear cooperation with countries assisting the nuclear programs of Venezuela; H.Res. 174 and H.Con.Res. 124 would express concern about anti-Semitism in Venezuela.
Note: This report provides background on political changes in Venezuela, U.S. policy, and U.S. legislative initiatives from 2003-July 2009. It will not be updated.