It’s been one year since Eyvin Hernandez has hugged his family. It’s been one year since he’s been home.
And it’s been one year since the Los Angeles County public defender has been able to argue for a defendant’s innocence.
Except this time, Hernandez is the defendant.
Hernandez, a criminal defense attorney who grew up in the South Bay, was arrested at the Venezuelan-Colombian border a year ago while on a two-week vacation. Since then, he has been detained in a Venezuelan cell, with his family and the United States government describing Hernandez as a wrongfully detained political prisoner.
His loved ones have also described the Los Angeles resident’s living conditions as dire – and they want him back home as soon as possible.
That’s why Hernandez’s family and friends, about 40 people in all, gathered in front of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, in downtown Los Angeles, last week to publicly urge the U.S. government – President Joe Biden in particular – to help bring him home.
His friends also have a change.org petition to call for political actions, which had accumulated 6,504 signatures as of Friday morning. A GoFundMe account had raised more than $34,800 for legal fees and financial help for when Hernandez comes home.
The rally took place on Thursday, March 30 – a day before the one-year anniversary of Hernandez’s arrest. Those who know the 44-year-old pleaded with the Biden administration to intervene on his behalf.
“The president has the power to bring him home,” Hernandez’s father, Pedro Martinez, told the Daily Breeze after the rally. “It’s (been) a year already. He deserves to be home as soon as possible.”
A State Department spokesperson, in a statement provided to the Southern California News Group, said officials are working to free him – and all captive Americans.
“The U.S. Government continues to work aggressively to bring home all U.S. nationals wrongfully detained or held captive…
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