Today, we welcome the long-overdue release of 25 crew members of the MV Galaxy Leader hailing from Bulgaria, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, and Ukraine. The United States is deeply grateful to the Sultanate of Oman for its essential and timely efforts to secure the release of the crew.
The Houthis had unlawfully detained the crew since violently seizing their vessel over a year ago. The Houthis have still not released the MV Galaxy Leader itself, which is stolen property. Houthi attacks have endangered the lives of seafarers, hindered the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and harmed economies across the region.
We must not be distracted by this insufficient action by the Houthis. Within Yemen, the Houthis continue to round up and detain hundreds of local staff members of the UN, NGOs, and diplomatic missions under abysmal conditions, including dozens of current and former Yemeni staff of the United States government unlawfully held based on false accusations. The Houthis have also stated that they will continue their unlawful attacks in the Red Sea against certain vessels associated with Israel. The Houthis must permanently cease all attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways without exception and immediately release all of the hundreds of detainees.
