Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued the following statement today, reacting to the announcement by the White House that Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles County public defender imprisoned in Venezuela since March 2022, has been released and is on his way back to the United States:
“It is a huge relief to know that this member of our County family has been released and is on his way back home.
Mr. Hernandez was an innocent bystander caught up in a political power play by the Venezuelan government and has suffered tremendously. I want him and his family to know that our County and its resources stand by to help him recover from this terrible, unjust ordeal.
His return is a reminder that we should keep fighting for what we know is right, and to not give up hope.”