WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2022) About a dozen family members of Americans detained in Iran, Russia, Venezuela and other countries, gathered in front of the White House on Wednesday to urge the Biden administration to do more to negotiate their release.
"Today, what I came to say for my family is we need action from the president and we're here asking for a meeting with him so we can talk about this hardship," Alexandra Zambrano, whose father and uncle are part of the group of CITGO executives detained in Venezuela, said.
In early March, the Venezuelan authorities released US citizens Jorge Fernandez and Gustavo Cardenas, who was one of six CITGO� executives arrested in Venezuela in 2017.
Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage, said there are more than 55 Americans detained in about 18 countries. She added that the United States needs to establish a more robust solution to address the problem of the Americans detained abroad.
The family members of Americans detained in Iran, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, and US legal permanent resident Shahab Dalili, also participated in the demonstration to pressure the Biden administration to negotiate their release.
The family members urged foreign governments not to use their imprisoned family members as a political tool to get concessions from the United States.
Joey Reed, father of Trevor Reed, who was recently part of a prisoner exchange with Russia, said keeping these stories in the news will pressure the White House to do more to negotiate the release of detained Americans overseas.
