Venezuela Frees 10 Americans in Swap for Deported Migrants

“Today, thanks to President Trump’s leadership and commitment to the American people, the United States welcomes home ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“Until today, more Americans were wrongfully held in Venezuela than any other country in the world,” Rubio added. “It is unacceptable that Venezuelan regime representatives arrested and jailed US nationals under highly questionable circumstances and without proper due process.”

“Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.”

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele noted that the deal rids his country of all Venezuelans deported to his country by Washington.

“Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TDA),” Bukele wrote on X. “Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes.”

“As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that [the] regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages,” Bukele said. “These individuals are now en route to El Salvador, where they will make a brief stop before continuing their journey home.”

“This operation is the result of months of negotiations with a tyrannical regime that had long refused to release one of its most valuable bargaining chips: its hostages.”

“Our commitment to the American people is clear,” Rubio said. “We will safeguard the well-being of U.S. nationals both at home and abroad and not rest until all Americans being held hostage or unjustly detained around the world are brought home.”