This Friday, President Nicolás Maduro reiterated his call for the release of the 31 Venezuelan children being held hostage by the United States (US) government, joining the demands of their families and the people who marched through the streets of Caracas last Thursday.
The national President expressed through his Telegram channel his congratulations to the citizens who participated in the mobilization: “I join you: Free our boys and girls!” he stated, not without first specifying that, to date, there is a record of 31 children who must be released, hoping that this number does not increase. He also reiterated his government’s commitment to do “whatever is necessary” to achieve the release of the children and ended his message by calling for an end to this situation: “Enough of the abuses and so much perversity! Let humanity be humane!
The 31 children kidnapped by the US government were separated from their parents during operations by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The parents were deported to Venezuela and, in some cases, sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, despite having committed no crime.
Meanwhile, the children have passed through diverse foster families without the approval of their parents or legal guardians, and without any clear information about their current status. Given this situation, the Bolivarian Government has reiterated its call for the children not only to be repatriated, but also to be guaranteed the right to travel with their families, thus ensuring that they are not separated and their human rights are fully respected.
On Thursday, representatives of the Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland) Plan and families of migrants delivered a document to the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Caracas. The text requests the intervention of the international organization in cases of Venezuelan minors detained in the United States and in the deportation of citizens to El Salvador.
According to statements by Camila Fabri, spokesperson for the movement, at least 31 children remain separated from their families in unclear conditions. Fabri stated that some of them have been relocated to various homes, making their follow-up difficult. The request submitted to the UN raises the need to investigate these cases and facilitate family reunification.
For his part, the Head of the Unified Command of the Bolivarian Revolution, Jorge Rodríguez, emphasized that demanding the freedom of Venezuelan migrants is a tireless struggle:
«Every day we will tell the useless people at the UN: do something, at least send a letter, at least make a statement regarding this serious violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,» he demanded.