President Maduro Demands U.S. Judge Order Return of Venezuelan Toddler

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, May 5, 2025. X/ @agenciaNDS

May 6, 2025 Hour: 8:06 am

We hope that in the case of Maikelys Espinoza, the law will be upheld, the Bolivarian leader stated.

On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he hopes that a U.S. judge will order the release and return of Maikelys Espinoza, a two-year-old girl who was separated from her mother before boarding a repatriation flight in the United States.

“We hope that in the case of little Maikelys, the law will be upheld and… hopefully a fair judge in the U.S. will recognize the law, the mother’s parental rights, and return her immediately to Venezuela,” he said, adding that Venezuela is prepared to retrieve the child “wherever she must be found.”

“What an abuse of authority, what an abuse of power, what a tremendous violation of the rights of a two-year-old girl! What are they going to accuse her of? That she’s a member of the Tren de Aragua? Are they going to continue with their false, lying, and manipulated narrative against Venezuela?” Maduro questioned.

On May 1, the two-year-old girl’s mother, Yorely Bernal, said she trusts in the efforts of the Maduro administration to secure the child’s return to the Caribbean country.

En el programa Con Maduro +, expresó el presidente Nicolás Maduro que, "el secuestro de Maikelys Espinoza desbordó el sentimiento de indignación y rabia nacional. No puedo calificarlo de otra manera; en consecuencia, marchamos el 1° de mayo para exigir su libertad".… pic.twitter.com/JWvGxubBgx
— Rebelde (@Rebeldement3) May 6, 2025

The text reads, “On the program Con Maduro +, President Nicolas Maduro said, ‘The kidnapping of Maikelys Espinoza overflowed with national indignation and rage. I can’t describe it any other way; consequently, we marched on May 1st to demand her freedom.'”

Bernal reiterated that she is “not a criminal” and that she has no criminal record either in Venezuela or in the U.S. Meanwhile, Raida Inciarte, the child’s grandmother, claimed to have documents proving that the girl “has voluntary departure from the United States.”

A day later, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) ordered the “immediate return” of Maikelys Espinoza, stating that the child is being illegally held in the United States and kept away from her family. For this reason, it issued a protective measure in her favor seeking her reunification with her mother.

The TSJ justices ordered that this decision be communicated to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, assigning it the task of using all legal, political, diplomatic, and multilateral mechanisms to ensure that “the sacred integrity of the Venezuelan family is respected and that international laws are upheld so the girl returns unharmed and safe to her family.”