Sens. Cruz, Schatz to Rubio: Bring Home Americans Wrongfully Detained in Venezuela

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a group of 18 Senators in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue efforts to bring home wrongfully detained Americans in Venezuela.

Cruz and Schatz were joined by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

Below are highlights and excerpts from the letter: 

Secretary Rubio,

We commend the Department of State for securing the January 31, 2025 release of six Americans who had been wrongfully detained in Venezuela, as well as the May 20 release of one additional wrongful detainee. Their return is a positive and important step. We write to express our continuing support for your efforts to bring all Americans home from Venezuela.

Today, at least eight Americans remain wrongfully detained in Venezuela, denied their freedom, separated from their loved ones, and unable to continue their lives. Their imprisonment is an ongoing injustice that necessitates immediate and decisive action by the U.S. government.

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We stand ready to work with you to ensure that every American wrongfully detained in Venezuela is returned home without further delay.

Sincerely,

Click here to read the full letter.