Venezuela has released ten American citizens in a significant prisoner exchange that also involved Venezuelans previously detained in El Salvador, according to statements from the U.S. and Salvadoran governments on Friday.
This exchange included the release of several Venezuelan political prisoners, although specific names of those released have not been disclosed by the authorities.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele confirmed the details of the exchange through a message on X, stating that his government had handed over Venezuelans accused of gang involvement in return for an undisclosed number of political prisoners and the ten Americans.
A social media account belonging to the State Department’s hostage affairs office shared a photo of the Americans onboard a plane, marking their release from Venezuelan detention.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed appreciation for the release of the 10 Americans and the Venezuelan political prisoners, highlighting the diplomatic efforts involved in the exchange.
A State Department official, who requested anonymity, informed NPR that the individuals freed from Venezuela included U.S. citizens and permanent residents who had been categorized as “wrongfully detained” less than a year prior. This list included Wilbert Joseph Castañeda and Lucas Hunter.
The backdrop to this exchange includes a controversial practice initiated during the Trump administration, which involved sending approximately 250 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. There, they were housed in a maximum security prison known as CECOT, with the U.S. government compensating the Salvadoran authorities for their detention.
Many of these men were accused of gang affiliation and deported under the seldom-used Alien Enemies Act, a measure that had not been invoked since World War II.
However, lawyers for the deported Venezuelans contend that the transfer was illegal, arguing that many of those affected were in the midst of asylum proceedings and had been held in U.S. detention facilities for extended periods.
On Friday, President Bukele published a video showing men in handcuffs being boarded onto a plane destined for Venezuela as part of the exchange.
Subsequently, Venezuelan news outlet TeleSur aired footage of a plane arriving with a group of the Venezuelan migrants.
Bukele described the prisoner swap as the culmination of “months of negotiations,” noting that the details were kept confidential until the public announcement, leaving some families unaware until they discovered the information via social media.
Gabriela Mora, whose husband Carlos Uzcategui was among the deportees sent to El Salvador, expressed her joy upon learning the news. She was attending her daughter’s school event in Venezuela when the announcement first came through.
“This makes us very happy,” Mora stated in a phone interview from Lobatera, a town in Venezuela’s Tachira state. “We have waited for this day for too long.”
Uzcategui, a coal miner from Tachira, had entered the U.S. in December after securing an appointment through the U.S. government’s CBP One app. He aimed to present his case for asylum.
Following his entry, he was placed in a Texas detention facility, where U.S. immigration officials accused him of being affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang based on tattoos he had received 15 years prior.
Mora countered these allegations, emphasizing that her husband is not a gang member but rather an industrious man committed to supporting his family.
image source from：npr
