Thank you to all of you who have signed the petition to help bring our friend, Eyvin Hernandez, home. Every signature counts - every signature is an indicator that someone cares about him and wants an end to his plight.

Here are some updates about Eyvin's situation:

1) On Saturday, October 22, Henry Martinez, Eyvin's little brother, finally received a phone call from the State Department informing him that the "wrongfully detained" designation has been applied to Eyvin. This is a huge relief after too many months of frustration and non-answers from the State Department. With the designation comes additional resources and better coordination with the State Department, and specifically, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA). More information can be found here.

2) On October 5, Supervisor Holly Mitchell sponsored a resolution to urge President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and the LA congressional delegation to secure Eyvin's well-being and bring him home. The resolution was passed unanimously by Supervisors Hilda Solis, Sheila Keuhl, Janice Hahn, Kathryn Barger, and Mitchell, and letters have been sent. We thank the badass elected women of LA County for standing up in the face of injustice when others would not.

3) On October 15, Eyvin's image was added to a wall in Washington, D.C. next to Ms. Brittney Griner courtesy of Isaac Campbell, the artist, and the Bring Our Families Home Campaign. We are so grateful to them for uplifting Eyvin's story in the deepest and most compassionate way. 

4) On October 1, we learned from the media that seven US nationals and permanent residents were freed from Venezuelan prisons because of a humanitarian prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuela. Eyvin's family and friends were devastated that he was not a part of the prison swap. We still have residual anger and disappointment from that - in light of the risk that Eyvin put himself in by making the plead he did to the President, which we think led to additional pressure to get Americans released. However, we are also ecstatic for the men who were released as we want them to be home with their families - and we wish them a speedy recovery and much healing. We are grateful to two of those men, Osman Khan, and Jose Pereira, who are helping us to push for Eyvin's freedom. Osman said that Eyvin is his best friend, and even in the madness of the situation, we find comfort in knowing that Eyvin makes friends wherever he goes. It's a testament to his humanity and his heart. When Eyvin found out about the news of his cell mate's release, he asked us if we heard the "good news".

5) Eyvin is not able to make as many phone calls these days as he was even a month ago. He still does not get enough sunlight in the dungeon where he is kept. His sleeping pattern is wacky because he is light sensitive and they keep the light on all the time. He thinks he caught COVID from one of the inmates, but seemed to be on the mend when we talked to him. One of the other US national was reportedly being denied water, and so we worry about him. We hope that he remains strong in body and mind; but studies after studies show that isolation can destroy human beings. As such, we continue to ask that the President treats this matter as urgent.

6) We have shared your petition with our elected officials and will continue to share it as more of you sign on - to show them that every day, there is more support for them to do whatever it takes to bring this cherished American home. 

Finally, as we continue to advocate and fight to free Eyvin, we are clear that it is President Maduro that holds the key to the prison cell. And it is President Biden's decision to make necessary compromises needed to bring Eyvin home. In reality, there is a price for Eyvin's release, and for us, no price is too high - that includes more humanitarian hostage exchanges. President Biden must have the courage to free our friend, and we must let him know we stand behind him as he does whatever it takes to bring Eyvin home. In addition, our elected officials have a moral and professional duty to help Eyvin, but they are not taking our asks seriously enough, and we need them to do much, much, much more than what they are doing now, if anything.

What to Do Next:

More pressure is needed. If any of you are on twitter, please tweet (regularly) at  @POTUS, @JoeBiden, @VP, @JakeSullivan46, @SecBlinken, @StateSPEHA, @jgeltzer, @SenAlexPadilla, @SenFeinstein. You can follow us @bringeyvinhome.

As his friends, we will continue to fight for him, and we are grateful that you are in this with us. We will not rest until Eyvin comes home.