Sen. Cruz Applauds Senate Foreign Relations Committee Passage of Resolution Calling for Mark Swidan’s Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded passage by the Committee of his resolution calling for the release of Mark Swidan, a Houston, Texas resident who has been unjustly detained by China since 2012 and sentenced to death.

Sen. Cruz said:

“This resolution emphasizes what everyone knows: the Chinese Communist Party’s detention of Mark Swidan is unjust and must come to an end. The passage of my resolution by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is an important step in highlighting and reemphasizing this outrage, and committing the United States to using all of the tools at our disposal to bring Mark Swidan home. The Chinese Communist Party is behaving like a Third World dictatorship by continuing to use him as a hostage.”

Sen. Cruz has repeatedly advocated for Mark Swidan’s release, and has urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the White House to take urgent action to secure Swidan’s release. Sen. Cruz regularly engages administration and Chinese officials to bring Mark Swidan home.

Sen. Cruz has sought to shine a light and speak out for Americans unjustly detained all over the world, including the Citgo Six in Venezuela, and Americans held in Iran, Russia, and China. 

Read the resolution here.

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