Eyvin Hernández, of American origin, is in a prison in Caracas, after being arrested near the border between Táchira (Venezuela) and Norte de Santander (Colombia) at the end of March this year. He was due to appear in court on July 11, but the hearing was postponed. He assures that he and other imprisoned compatriots in the country feel “as if our government had abandoned us.”
Lawyer Eyvin Hernández, who has been detained in the country for five months, sent a message to the Joe Biden administration to help him, while saying he feels “forgotten” by the US authorities.
Hernandez’s relatives told the agency Associated Press that the message was sent to them by the lawyer, who worked for 15 years in the public defense offices of Los Angeles County, from prison.
“No one should be abandoned at the time of greatest need and when they are most vulnerable,” says the lawyer in the audio that has already been delivered to the State Department. “However, I don’t feel that my government feels the same way about me.”
Hernández said that he and other Americans jailed in Venezuela (there are at least 10, including five oil executives and three military personnel) feel “as if our government has abandoned us.”
The 44-year-old American lawyer of Salvadoran origin is in a Caracas prison, after being detained near the border between Táchira (Venezuela) and Norte de Santander (Colombia). at the end of March this year. It was to be presented in court on July 11, but the hearing was postponed.
His family alleges that he traveled to the border from the city of Medellin with a Venezuelan friend who needed to stamp her passport to resolve a problem with her immigration status in Colombia. They insist that she never intended to enter Venezuela and that he had to fly to the United States three days later, but they allegedly fell into the hands of criminal gangs who brought them to the country, where they were captured.
For months, US officials have been quietly seeking a separate deal with the administration of Nicolás Maduro, which has the largest number of Americans suspected of being used as bargaining chips.
Henry Martinez said they have considered handing over his brother’s case to special presidential envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens, who managed to free two Citgo executives this year after a visit to the country.
In the recording, the American also said that it has been months since he or any of his fellow Americans have seen a courtroom, nor do they have any hope of a fair trial. “This place is meant to break you psychologically and spiritually.”
“We are all innocent, but we are being accused and treated as terrorists,” explains Hernández, who also mentioned that uncertainty, isolation and human rights violations are taking their toll, with two Americans who have already attempted suicide and a third on the verge of daily mental crises.
“If you don’t get us out soon, there may be no one left to save,” he said.
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