Ted Cruz joins calls for China to release American Mark Swidan

The family of a Texas man awaiting execution a decade after he was arrested on trumped-up charges says President Biden is “picking high-profile cases” to wade into, like those of Brittney Griner and Trevor Reed.

Mark Swidan was arrested in China in 2012 after telling his mother that he was traveling to buy cheap furniture for his home in Houston. He was arrested in his hotel room on suspicion of collaborating with the cartel to make methamphetamine.

Swidan has always denied the allegations. He was sentenced to death in 2019 and lost an appeal for the sentence earlier this month.

He now awaits execution in China with a date to be determined. At a recent hearing, he was handed a two-year suspension.

Swidan’s frustrated mother Katherine says her son would be home now if he was famous or trendy

In an interview with NewsNation, his mother Katherine says she has never heard from the White House or President Biden.

Unlike in the case of WNBA star Brittney Griner, ex-Marine Trevor Reed, or Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, no one from the Biden administration has stepped in to try to secure his release.

It’s like Mark doesn’t exist. I think the government is cherry picking.’

Earlier this month, the foreign ministry said it was “disappointed” by China’s decision to uphold the verdict.

A UN report on the arrest found that Swidan was arbitrarily detained.

While many of the details remain secret, a source close to negotiations to release him told DailyMail.com that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time while a legitimate drug deal was going on, and that he may have been caught cheating. film it.

After his arrest, Chinese officials were determined to confiscate his phone and its contents, the source said.

NBA star Brittney Griner was released after the Biden administration stepped in to release her from Russian custody

Trevor Reed was released from Russian custody (left) last April after much urging from his family. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich remains in custody in Russia (right)

After discovering that Swidan was not involved in the drug trade, the official said it is possible that Chinese authorities had to conduct “reverse engineering” charges to justify their actions.

A spokesperson claimed that both Secretary Blinken and President Biden were “personally invested” in bringing him home.

But Mark’s mother says she has not heard from anyone in the current government.

Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn introduced a resolution on the Senate floor calling on China to release him. Nothing came of it from Beijing.

In an interview with NewsNation’s Leland Vittert last night, Cruz angrily said, “It’s been over a decade since Mark Swidan was trapped in a hellhole. They sentenced him to death on false charges. It’s a long time ago.

Swidan’s mother says she still hasn’t heard from anyone in the Biden administration

“I have spoken to his mother repeatedly, I have spoken to the Chinese government, I have spoken to the Biden administration… it is time for China to send this American hostage home.”

Cruz claimed the case came to a halt when Minister Blinken canceled a planned trip to China after a “spy balloon” was discovered in the US.

“We had been pressuring the State Department to make Mark Swidan’s case a top priority for the government during that trip.

Then the Chinese spy balloon came along and Blinken canceled his trip and the Biden administration just ineptly allowed the spy balloon to spy all over the mainland United States, spy on military facilities and send that information back to Beijing.

“Since then, we haven’t seen any progress since Mark Swidan.”

Actor Mel Gibson has also made a passionate plea for Swidan’s return.

“The United States government has demanded his release and we, as Americans, must stand up for this man who represents the best of us,” he said in a video statement earlier this week.

Actor Mel Gibson has also made a passionate plea for Swidan’s return