Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez speaks about Venezuelan children separated from their families in the US at an event in Chacao municipality, Caracas, July 11, 2025. Photo: Fuser News.
The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, reported that the Venezuelan government maintains daily communications with the government of the United States. The aim is to repatriate the 31 Venezuelan children seized by US authorities and the 252 Venezuelan migrants illegally held in a prison in El Salvador by orders of US President Donald Trump.
“We will not rest until we achieve the release of our 31 children,” said Rodríguez on Friday, July 11, at a press conference. He highlighted that this pattern of family separation is suffered by Venezuelan migrant women detained without charges in US detention centers, often for more than a year without a judicial hearing.
Rodríguez also condemned the irresponsible leaking of private conversations between the two parties by some US power sectors. “What the New York Times states is not exactly how it happened. I have proof, messages, and records of all the conversations that have been held,” he stressed.
He reiterated that the return of children and migrants is a government priority. “The first thing we do every day is to demand that the US return our children. They are not yours, they belong to their mothers, their fathers, their grandparents, they belong to Venezuela,” he said.
Abduction of Children: a Weapon of US War Against Venezuelan Migrants
Rodríguez accused the US of implementing a scheme that “separates mothers from their children” and transfers them to so-called shelters. “In the worst case scenario, these children keep being moved from one shelter to another, while they could have been cared for by their families in their homeland,” he pointed out.
He further added that the number of cases has increased. Initially, there were reports of 18 children separated from their families, but in a recent repatriation flight, three mothers were separated from their children. This brought the number to 31.
Regarding the 252 Venezuelans illegally imprisoned in El Salvador, Rodríguez called the actions of Nayib Bukele’s government “inhumane.” He pointed out that the Salvadoran government has not provided basic information about the detainees, nor has it allowed them access to legal defense. “They have not even sent us a list. The nine women who were returned told us of torture, mistreatment, and undignified conditions in detention centers,” he said.
He thanked Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of El Salvador for his support. He also requested that the Vatican and churches of all denominations join the call for the restitution of the rights of Venezuelan migrants.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
