Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro together with the mothers and relatives of some of the Venezuelan kids abducted by the government of the US empire, in Caracas, June 30, 2025. Photo: Presidential Press.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV requesting his intercession and support for the return of Venezuelan children who have been kidnapped from detention centers and foster homes in the US empire. The president explained that some of these children—children of Venezuelans detained without committing a crime—have even been transferred to El Salvador.
“This is about the lives and futures of children who, for various reasons, have ended up in detention,” President Maduro said during the 84th episode of his television programme Con Maduro+ this Monday, June 30.
In the letter to Pope Leo XIV, he requested that the Supreme Pontiff, through Jorge Rodríguez—head of Venezuelan Delegation for Dialogue and Understanding, as well as the search and rescue commission for these children—and Camilla Fabri—head of the Return to the Homeland Program—initiate negotiations with the Venezuelan Catholic Church, the Monsignor of Caracas, and the Catholic Churches of the US empire and El Salvador. This diplomatic initiative seeks for the Church to offer aid and mercy, uniting through their shared Christianity to achieve the prompt return of these children and ease the tensions of their parents.
Jorge Rodríguez proposed that all Venezuelans sign the letter to the pope, a gesture that would symbolize national unity. He also announced that they will ask the National Assembly to declare Volker Türk, head of the UN High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), persona non grata, and that Venezuela withdraw from his office while he is high commissioner for human rights, something that was materialized on Wednesday, July 2.
Abduction of Children: a Weapon of US War Against Venezuelan Migrants
Inaction against detentions in El Salvador
President Maduro strongly criticized the inaction of Volker Türk, emphasizing that “migration is not a crime.” He called for people to speak out and tell the truth to recover the 252 Venezuelans illegally detained at the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, describing this cause as “sacred and humane.”
He condemned the detention of these Venezuelans, emphasizing that they have not had the right to defense, access to their lawyers or a court to try them. “They never committed any crime in the US, much less in El Salvador,” the president stated, “they have not had any rights as human beings; they are simply kidnapped.”
Jorge Rodríguez, who has maintained ongoing and direct coordination with the US empire, reported that since February this year, Venezuela has secured the return of more than 6,000 detainees held at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities within the US colony.
Camilla Fabri, along with Rodríguez, will coordinate with the affected families to secure the safe return of the 18 kidnapped children.
(RedRadioVE) by Jhulimar Fraga
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
