Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) has lifted his hold on a bill that would impose sanctions on Venezuelan officials after the South American government reportedly pressured the Netherlands to release a former general wanted in the United States for alleged drug trafficking.
Corker, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, previously blocked the legislation from a committee vote due to what some senators described as "sanction fatigue." Lawmakers were pushing the Obama administration at the time to place tougher sanctions on Russia after the Kremlin annexed Crimea and began to foment instability in eastern Ukraine.
Corker now says he is ready to move.
"A regional dialogue remains the best option to help Venezuelans find a negotiated, democratic way forward that addresses systematic violations of human rights," he said in a statement. "But the Venezuelan government’s complicity with criminal activity that threatens its neighbors and the U.S. demands a firm response from our country and other nations."
The bipartisan bill would impose U.S. asset and visa freezes on Venezuelan officials who perpetrated human rights abuses against protesters in recent months.
The Venezuelan government reportedly pressured the Dutch-owned island of Aruba to free Hugo Carvajal, the former chief of military intelligence, by sending navy ships near its shores and threatening to sever vital airline and oil transactions. U.S. prosecutors accuse Carvajal of accepting bribes from several kingpins and facilitating the smuggling of drugs into the United States.