FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A Fort Myers couple previously caught in the middle of “Operation Epic Fury”, a military effort led by Central Command to dismantle the Iranian regime, has returned to the United States.
WINK News covered Alexander Irigoyen and his wife, Magda Sotiriadis, who reached out to our team in early March, saying that they were stuck in Dubai amid the Iranian conflict.
Irigoyen shared that, although he had contacted the Department of Homeland Security, which offered them a flight from Abu Dhabi to Dallas if they could reach the airport, challenges arose in navigating a war zone.
Abu Dhabi is not around the corner. How do I get from here to Abu Dhabi? I mean, I’m in the war zone,” said Irigoyen.
Since contacting WINK News, the couple said that Homeland Security, along with the Department of State, and several politicians, reached out to them to provide transportation back to the United States.
“Although we finally left taking a shortcut that we found and with a lot of luck, the awareness and activity generated after the TV interviews aired was overwhelming,” said Irigoyen.
Nicholas Karsen is a Digital Specialist and has been with WINK News since May 2023.