By Cynthia Hoang-Duong
LOS ANGELES, CA – In a call-to-action statement, California State Assemblymember Issac G. Bryan (D-Los Angeles) introduced a resolution here recounting the wrongful detention in Venezuela for nearly a year of Eyvin Hernandez – a public defender and a graduate of the UCLA School of Law.
In March 2022, according to the resolution, a few days before he was expected to return to Los Angeles from his vacation in Colombia, Hernandez accompanied a friend to Cúcuta, a municipality near the Colombia-Venezuela border.
The lawmaker added that, upon this border, heavily-armed Venezuelan military agents wrongfully accused him of being a U.S. spy, had a mask put over his head and transported him to a maximum security prison in Venezuela.
Hernandez is currently in the custody of the Venezuelan government on charges of criminal association and conspiracy. If convicted, he could face up to 16 years of incarceration, said Bryan.
In Oct. 2022, seven months after he was detained, the U.S. government officially declared that Hernandez was “wrongfully detained” and this detention was “unjust.”
On Monday, the California Assembly unanimously passed HR 11, a bill that demands the federal government negotiate Hernandez’ release immediately because of its pressing nature.
Despite his imprisonment in Venezuela as an U.S. political prisoner, Hernandez has “kept a positive attitude, he’s kept hope alive, and he’s inspired other US detainees,” noted Assemblymember Bryan.
In fact, Hernandez has worked alongside nine other detainees to obtain their release from Venezuela.
Emphasizing the support of a bipartisan congressional delegation and the county of Los Angeles for his release, Bryan urges California to step up and aid in the campaign for Eyvin Hernandez to return home.
