Political speech, timestamped and in context

Vicente Gonzalez: “It took us six weeks, I think, to get them out of Uzbekistan.”

Featuring: Vicente Gonzalez, Democratic | U.S. House, Texas, District 34

Congressman Gonzalez Recollects on Saving Six U.S. Allies During Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Published August 15, 2026

And there was. I mean, there was no pathway to get them back into the country or anywhere else. To make a long story short, It took us six weeks, I think, to get them out of Uzbekistan. And then they went to Tajikistan and Qatar and eventually made it all back to the United States. (04:30–04:34)

STATEMENT

Asserts that it took six weeks to get the Afghan pilots out of Uzbekistan.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

See the main statements from Vicente Gonzalez in this video

“The evacuation of 172,000 people in that short amount of time was an extraordinary achievement.”
Asserts that 172,000 people were evacuated in a short time during the Afghanistan withdrawal.01:09-01:15
“I happened to be the chair of the US Uzbekistan Caucus.”
Asserts that Vicente Gonzalez was the chair of the US Uzbekistan Caucus.01:20-01:24
“We have some allied Afghan pilots who are friends of ours who are flying our planes, although they were Afghanistan owned.”
Asserts that allied Afghan pilots were flying planes owned by Afghanistan but considered as 'our planes.'02:04-02:13
“The colonel was able, through CIA operative who was also working in conjunction with us through this whole process, was able to get the families out and through the gate.”
Asserts that a CIA operative helped get the families of Afghan pilots out and through the gate.04:43-04:53
“They were actually able to come into Virginia, I think, before the pilots actually got here.”
Asserts that the families of the Afghan pilots arrived in Virginia before the pilots.04:57-05:03
“It saved six of our pilot allied friends and lives and their family.”
Asserts that the efforts saved six allied pilots and their families.06:15-06:23