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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias is the current President 
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of Venezuela; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 2002, President Chavez tried to take over the 
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Caracas city police force, which reports to an opposition 
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mayor; the Venezuelan Supreme Court ordered Chavez to restore 
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the force's autonomy; an opposition strike occurred in January 
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of 2003 and violence ensued, resulting in two deaths; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In October of 2005, President Chavez accused what 
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he called the "North American empire" of threatening "all life 
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on the planet"; and
 
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    WHEREAS, In August of 2006, President Chavez made 
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statements comparing Israel to Hitler; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In September of 2006, President Chavez delivered a 
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speech to the United Nations General Assembly condemning U.S. 
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President George Bush; in the speech, Chavez referred to 
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President Bush as "the devil", adding that Bush had come to the 
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United Nations General Assembly to "share his nostrums to try 
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to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and 
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pillage of the peoples of the world"; in response, U.S. House 
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Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) stated "He is an 
 


 






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everyday thug"; and
 
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    WHEREAS, President Chavez has undergone criticism from the 
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global community for what is considered to be an excess usage 
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of police action; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In May of 2007, President Chavez silenced the 
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popular Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) and replaced it with a 
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state-run broadcast station; the station had been on the air 
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for 53 years and aired news broadcasts with a decidedly 
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anti-governmental perspective; it was one of only a handful of 
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private broadcast stations that openly criticized the 
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government; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Media outlets have accused the Chavez 
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administration of intimidating their journalists using 
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specially-dispatched gangs; and
 
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    WHEREAS, In November of 2007 and in February of 2008, 
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President Chavez threatened to cut off oil shipments to the 
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United States; and

 
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    WHEREAS, President Chavez's warm and public friendship 
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with Cuban President Fidel Castro has compromised the U.S. 
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policy of isolating Cuba diplomatically and economically; and

 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, The U.S. State Department released a report in 
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April of 2008 which states that President Chavez is not 
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cooperating with U.S. anti-terror efforts and has "deepened 
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Venezuelan relationships with state sponsors of terrorism Iran 
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and Cuba"; it further notes that Venezuelan weapons stocks have 
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turned up in the hands of Colombian terrorist organizations; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the State 
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of Illinois and its citizens to not conduct business with 
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President Hugo Chavez or any companies associated with 
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President Hugo Chavez; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the Governor.