Rep. Barragán & Mayor Bass Lead Letter Urging Administration to Bring Eyvin Hernandez Back Home to the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Dec. 21 led a letter to President Biden, asking the Administration to work to bring Eyvin Hernandez back home to the United States. In addition to Barragán and Bass, the letter was signed by 20 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S Senator Ben Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Hernandez, a Los Angeles County public defender, was wrongfully detained at the Venezuelan border by government authorities. He was accused of conspiracy and has been held in military prison by Venezuela since March of 2022. 

“My brother Eyvin has been held captive in a dungeon and denied freedom in Caracas, Venezuela, for far too long – nearly nine months too long. It is unbearable for myself, my mom and dad, my children, and his many friends to see him suffer and to find ourselves helpless in rescuing him from this misery he is in,” said Henry Martinez, Eyvin’s brother. “Only the President can help Eyvin. Mr. President, my family begs you to make the humane and necessary choice to bring Eyvin home to the U.S.”

Mr. Hernandez is a U.S. citizen who was traveling in Colombia and who had no intention of entering Venezuela. According to reports, he encountered armed masked men while accompanying a friend to a border town. He was accused of being a spy, hooded, hand-cuffed and forcefully taken into Venezuela where he is being held at the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence prison. In a letter dated Nov. 1, 2022, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) Roger Carstens issued a determination that Eyvin Hernandez has been unlawfully detained.

Expeditious action is needed. The charges against Mr. Hernandez include criminal association and conspiracy, and together could result in a sentence of up to 16 years. The judicial system in Venezuela is highly compromised, and any trial against Mr. Hernandez is unlikely to produce a fair result … The Biden Administration must take immediate action to return Eyvin Hernandez home to his family, friends, and community in Los Angeles.” the letter states.

The letter was supported by the Coalition to Bring Eyvin Home.

“Our coalition is tremendously grateful to Congresswoman Nanette Barragan, former Congresswoman Karen Bass – now Mayor Bass of the Los Angeles City, and to every member who has signed on,” said the Coalition to Bring Eyvin Home. “As people who have been touched by Eyvin’s loving presence, we can say he is the best of what America has to offer. We admire and respect him. We will continue to fight for Eyvin as he has fought for his clients and everyone who has come to him for help through the decades. Mr. President, you must act now to bring Eyvin home before it is too late.”

Read the letter here.