Venezuela denounces U.S. "kidnapping" its toddler

CARACAS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Monday denounced the U.S. authorities for "kidnapping" a two-year-old Venezuelan girl, who was separated from her mother when "boarding a repatriation flight to Venezuela."

According to a government statement, the kidnapping of the girl named Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal, committed by the United States, violated "the rights of our migrants and in contravention of international norms, and most especially the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Charter of the United Nations."

The statement said that the United States has "once again committed the extremely serious offense of separating families and removing a minor from her emotional environment and, in particular, from her biological mother."

The father of the girl was also kidnapped and sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador without any form of trial or court action, it added.

"Venezuela will resort to all legal, political and diplomatic mechanisms, as well as all multilateral actions, aimed at ensuring that the sacred integrity of our families is respected and that international laws are upheld, so that the infant Maikellys Antonella Espinoza Bernal is returned safe and sound to her country," the statement said. Enditem