McCaul Statement Following the State Department’s Refusal to Share a List of Americans Wrongfully Detained in Venezuela

Washington, D.C. – After the Biden administration’s offer of sanctions relief to the Maduro regime in exchange for the potential for sham elections in Venezuela, media sources reported additional Americans were taken into the regime’s custody. Despite a commitment by senior State Department officials to clarify these reports and provide the House Foreign Affairs Committee with an accurate snapshot of Americans it considers wrongfully detained, the Department refuses to provide Congress the transparency it deserves. In response, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul issued the following statement:

“It is absurd and outrageous that the State Department habitually withholds information on Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela. These Americans deserve a whole of government effort to getting them home, and Congress equally shares the responsibility and desire to get this mission accomplished.

“As the Lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee who represents a district multiple American hostages call home, I take this obligation seriously. It is of critical importance that the Department ceases from concealing information and allows the committee to conduct rigorous oversight of implementation of the Levinson Act and its policy towards Venezuela.”

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