May 16, 2025 from Caracas
In celebrating Family Day and the return of Maikelys Espinoza, kidnapped by the US , President Maduro stated that the Venezuelan migrants imprisoned in El Salvador are hard working people not criminals.
Caracas, May 16 (RHC)– Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, during the march celebrating Family Day and the return of Maikelys Espinoza, a girl kidnapped by the United States (US), assured that the 252 Venezuelans kidnapped in El Salvador will return sooner rather than later.
“I say to the mothers of the kidnapped children, to the fathers, to the siblings of those captured in El Salvador, they will be rescued safe and sound and returned to their loved ones sooner rather than later.” He also emphasized that “our migrants (the Venezuelans) are hardworking, honest people. Migrating is not a crime. Persecuting, torturing, and disappearing migrants is a crime.” “Sanctioning a country is also a crime,” he added.
Meanwhile, he noted that in this criminal wave, his government has managed to return more than 5,000 migrants who were in U.S. prisons. The Venezuelan president also explained that one of those returned migrants was Maikelys’s mother, “a noble young woman who is here, who has never lost her ability to smile in the face of adversity,” he said.
However, a year after her migration to the U.S., where she turned herself in to immigration authorities, where her daughter was kidnapped and she was separated from her husband, Venezuela managed to rescue the minor.
In this regard, Maduro recounted that “one day they told her you were leaving. She didn’t know where she was going, and suddenly she found herself on a plane, and finally she arrived at Simón Bolívar International Airport. There were the hugs and arms of her homeland welcoming her, and that’s when we learned about the girl’s plight.”
In keeping with the celebration, Maduro emphasized that “the happiness we have in our souls is beyond our control,” adding that the girl is “rescued, free and happy among us.” “Our determination and unity has once again resulted in this great joy.”
Following this line of thought, he also recounted that the day, when he saw Maikelys, he was once again filled “with great emotion,” an event he celebrates in conjunction with the International Day of Families.
“I have seen the immense mobilization on a day that should be celebrated with music and hugs…as a family. This national effort that you called for to raise your flags and continue to reaffirm from Venezuela that together hope is in the streets,” he added.
He also thanked Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, for his efforts in the girl’s return, as well as the first combatant, Cilia Flores.
Source: Radio Havana Cuba, translation Ed Newman