Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro calls for the immediate release of kidnapped migrants in El Salvador and the return of Maikelys Espinoza, denouncing U.S. and right-wing complicity in the criminalization of Venezuelan migration.

During massive Labor Day demonstrations, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a forceful demand for the release of one-year-old Maikelys Espinoza, currently held in U.S. custody, and 253 Venezuelan migrants reportedly kidnapped in El Salvador. Maduro directly blamed the Venezuelan right and U.S. authorities for the ongoing suffering of migrant families, denouncing what he described as a campaign of criminalization and xenophobia against Venezuelan migrants.

Family Separation and Criminalization: A Human Rights Crisis

The Venezuelan government has sharply condemned the separation of Maikelys Espinoza from her mother, calling it a “heinous practice of family separation” and an act of abduction by U.S. authorities. According to official statements, Maikelys was taken from her mother as she was being deported, while her father was sent without due process to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison-a facility described by Venezuelan officials as a modern-day concentration camp. Caracas insists that these actions constitute grave violations of migrants’ rights and international law.

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The text reads:#News || President @nicolasmaduro reported on the harsh reality faced by Venezuelan migrants.

“Nearly 2 million Venezuelans believed in the ‘dream’ of Peru, Colombia, and Chile. They were subjected to persecution, xenophobia, and slave labor in these countries. Driven by the campaign of the Venezuelan far right, they were filled with hope in their search for a better future. I don’t blame them; they thought they would go, find resources, and be able to return to their country-the best country in the world.“

Maduro further accused U.S. authorities of fabricating links between Venezuelan migrants and the Tren de Aragua gang long ago dismantled by the Venezuelan authorities to justify their actions. The parents of Maikelys have denied any gang affiliation, with the father stating that suspicions arose solely due to his tattoos,a claim unsubstantiated by evidence. Human rights defenders and the Venezuelan government are pursuing all available legal and diplomatic avenues to secure the child’s safe return.

President Maduro denounced the “criminal sanctions” and the complicity of right-wing figures such as María Corina Machado and Leopoldo López, arguing that their support for foreign intervention has led to widespread suffering, labor exploitation, and xenophobic violence against Venezuelan migrants.

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