US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged Tuesday to bring all arbitrarily detained Americans home.
"I carry with me and have in my office a card where I have the names of every arbitrarily detained American around the world,” Blinken said at an event in Washington, D.C. titled “Hostage Diplomacy as an International Security Threat: Strengthening Our Collective Action, Deterrence, and Response.”
"And of all the things that I get some pleasure from doing in this job, none gives me greater pleasure than crossing a name off of that list," he added.
The US has been able to cross out 45 names since 2021, including in December, when it brought home six citizens, the last Americans wrongfully held in Venezuela, Blinken said.
"But there are still too many people on that list. And I know that homecomings are bittersweet things, even painful things, for the families whose loved ones remain detained.”
The international community has to join together to deter future detentions, Blinken said, adding: "Our citizens are not human bargaining chips. They are not political pawns. If any country wrongfully holds any of our people, we will hold them accountable."
