Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus Meet with Former Hostage and Families of Current Hostages Held by Hamas
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus, Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), and Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL) issued the following statement after meeting with a former hostage and families of hostages who remain held captive by Hamas in Gaza:
“It has been 405 days since Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,200 innocent men, women, and children and kidnapped more than 250 hostages. Today, 101 hostages, including Americans, remain in brutal captivity under Hamas.
“Yesterday, as co-chairs of the bipartisan Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus, we met with a former hostage who had been held for over 50 days, as well as with the families of those still in captivity. It was profoundly emotional to hear their accounts of the horrific conditions, including mental torture and sexual and physical violence perpetrated by their captors. We assured them that their loved ones are not forgotten.
“It is crucial that Congress remain united in unwavering bipartisan support and solidarity with our ally, Israel, and continue our efforts urging for the remaining hostages to be freed. We call on our neighbors in the region to exhaust all options in this effort urging for the safe release and return of all hostages and for their captors to be held accountable.”
In addition to the co-chairs of the Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus, the following officials were present in solidarity during the meeting:
- Luis Almagro, Secretary General, Organization of American States (OAS)
- Juan Cortelletti, Chargé d'affaires, Embassy of Argentina
- Jose Thovar, Counselor, Embassy of Spain
- Ambassador Jose Miguel Aleman, Embassy of Panama
- Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes, Embassy of Portugal