Relatives of US hostages ask Biden to make good on promises to bring family members home

Photo: Shawn Thew – EFE – EPA

 

Family members of more than two dozen U.S. hostages are urging the Biden administration to live up to its promises and bring their relatives home.

By Washington Examiner – Asher Notheis

Oct 25, 2021

The relatives of 26 people detained in countries around the world sent a letter on Monday to President Joe Biden asking for evidence that it is taking action to save their loved ones after a promising call in February with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to the Associated Press.





“We need to be shown that the promises of your administration to prioritize the return of our family members are not empty,” the letter reads. “Now is the time for action. Now we need you to bring our fellow Americans home.”

The families who signed the letter include relatives of Mark Frerichs, a contractor abducted in Afghanistan in early 2020, Trevor Reed, a Marine imprisoned in Russia , and José Pereira, the former president of Houston-based CITGO imprisoned in Venezuela.

The group said they have been unable to meet with either Biden or with his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, “which leads us to believe that your administration is not prioritizing negotiations and other methods to secure their release.”

Pereira’s son, John, who sent a separate letter with the families of eight other hostages in Caracas, said he believes the Biden administration “can do more.”

Read More: Washington Examiner – Relatives of US hostages ask Biden to make good on promises to bring family members home 

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