An LA attorney detained in Venezuela five months ago pleaded for his government not to forget him, in a secretly recorded voice message.
Ervin Hernandez, an American detained at the Colombian-Venezuelan border after being taken from Colombia by gang members, recorded a two-minute message describing the conditions he and at least nine other detained Americans face. He also said they felt abandoned and begged the government not to leave them behind.
Hernandez described his last 15 years as a Los Angeles County public defender fighting for fair treatment for vulnerable clients. “No one should be abandoned at the time of their greatest need and when they’re most vulnerable,” he said in the recording provided to The Associated Press by Hernandez’s family. “However, I don’t feel like my government feels that way about me.”
Hernandez’s voice was calm as he described the mental states of at least 10 Americans imprisoned, including five oil executives and three veterans. They “feel like our government has abandoned us,” and he went on to say that, “the uncertainty, isolation, and human rights violations are taking a toll,” and that two Americans have already attempted suicide and a third is on the brink, having daily mental breakdowns. “If you don’t get us out soon, then there might not be anyone left to save,” he said. “This place is meant to break you psychologically and spiritually,” he said of confinement at a maximum security prison. “We’re all innocent, yet we’re being charged and treated as terrorists.”
It’s been months since he or any other Americans have been in a courtroom, according to the recording, and they have no hopes of getting a fair trial.
Hernandez is among roughly 50 Americans wrongfully detained by hostile governments worldwide. His pleas for assistance come as the Biden administration is under pressure to bring them home.
Although the US government has issued an advisory warning for Americans to avoid Venezuela due to the risk of wrongful detentions, the State Department is reportedly considering whether to turn the Hernandez case over to the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens.
Hernandez was traveling in Colombia for vacation when he was lured and conned by a gang who forced him over the border. Upon seeing his passport, gang members gave him to security forces, who kept him from communicating for weeks.
Last month, President Biden signed an executive order to provide more information to families of Americans detained abroad. It also seeks to impose stiff sentences on the criminals, terrorists, and government officials holding them.
In his recording, Hernandez pled for peaceful and swift resolutions. “Everyone here wants the US to have peaceful, respectful, economic, social, and political relations with the people and the government of Venezuela. We don’t feel that the economy should be prioritized over our lives.”