GOP Congressman Says U.S. Deportees Missing in Venezuela Following Earthquakes Is ‘Just An Act of God’
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Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) said the more than one hundred reportedly missing U.S. deportees in Venezuela are part of an "act of God." The post GOP Congressman Says U.S. Deportees Missing in Venezuela Following Earthquakes Is ‘Just An Act of God’ first appeared on Mediaite.
Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) said the more than one hundred U.S. deportees said to be missing in the aftermath of the earthquakes that hit Venezuela are part of an “act of God.”
According to a report published by the Associated Press on Monday, 146 Venezuelans were on a deportation flight from Miami that arrived in Venezuela on June 24 just hours before the first of two major back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.
The deportees were reportedly taken to the Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira, which collapsed during the earthquakes. At least one hundred of them remain missing beneath the rubble.
Venezuela’s official death toll is nearing 2,000, and efforts to locate and rescue survivors continue.
Giménez, who has long been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, spoke to CNN’s Boris Sanchez on Tuesday, who asked Giménez about Venezuela and whether the Department of Homeland Security bears any responsibility for the missing deportees.
“I do want to ask you, Congressman, about the situation in Venezuela and, specifically, this news that we’ve received that hours before the earthquake, close to 150 people on a deportation flight from Miami were at the epicenter of the earthquakes, and the hotel they were in collapsed,” Sanchez said. “Many of them remain missing. Their family members say that they have not been able to get answers. Do you think DHS has responsibility to account for those missing?”
While he expressed his sympathy for the tragedy, Giménez claimed humans do not bear responsibility for what happened to the deportees, citing a greater power at play.
“No, I don’t, I think that they were deported legally from the United States,” he said, before doubling down and removing his “I think” altogether, “They were deported legally from the United States. The fact you had a tragedy afterwards, you can’t pin that on DHS. I mean, it’s just an act of God. So, no, I don’t. Now, I feel for them, and I hope that they turn out to be okay, but that’s not something DHS should be accountable for. That’s an act of God, and nobody could have foreseen that an earthquake was going to happen in Venezuela.”
Watch above via CNN.
The post GOP Congressman Says U.S. Deportees Missing in Venezuela Following Earthquakes Is ‘Just An Act of God’ first appeared on Mediaite.