Buchanan pushes State Department to help Floridians stuck overseas because of COVID-19
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key. is pushing for quicker action from the U.S. State Department to get local Americans home who are currently trapped in various foreign countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, Buchanan sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on behalf of those Americans, including one from Sarasota and Daniel Orzech, of Bradenton.
Orzech has been stranded in Peru since March 15 and placed in quarantine.
Sarasota resident Kendra Simpkins, is a U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of Operation Warrior Resolution.
Simpkins has been trapped in New Delhi, India, in the midst of a 21-day quarantine. Recently named “Sarasota Female Veteran of the Year,” Simpkins has had five flights canceled.
Buchanan is also seeking quick assistance to get home Cindy Alejandra Gutierrez Ramirez and her daughter Christina, of Lithia, Fla., who are currently stranded in Columbia.
“I am very concerned that people from my district, among others, have reported difficulties getting assistance from U.S. embassies in foreign countries and have been unable to secure flights home,” Buchanan said in a prepared statement.
Buchanan is urging for more “forceful action” to get these Americans home.
“I join their families and friends who are anxiously awaiting their swift return to U.S. soil,” Buchanan wrote in his letter to Pompeo. “Please act immediately to provide information to my constituents and help arrange evacuation flights home. “It’s frightening for these people to find themselves trapped on foreign soil and unable to get home because of travel restrictions.”
Buchanan said the U.S. government should be doing, “everything possible to secure their return.”
Buchanan’s call for action comes on the heels of he and State Rep. Margaret Good, who is challenging Buchanan for his seat in Congress, calling on officials to do more for the Floridians, including four people from Sarasota who are currently trapped aboard the Zaandam cruise ship.