U.S. swaps Venezuelans sent to El Salvador for Americans held by Caracas

Source: Washington Post

July 18, 2025 at 4:17 p.m. EDT


More than 250 Venezuelans deported in March by the Trump administration and flown to El Salvador’s high security “counterterrorism” prison were sent home Friday in exchange for 1o U.S. citizens imprisoned in Venezuela by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

In a carefully coordinated series of events following months of negotiations by the State Department, the Venezuelans were bused from the prison to El Salvador’s international airport Friday morning and picked up by an aircraft sent from Venezuela. Simultaneously, a U.S.-chartered Gulfstream plane departed a small Georgia airport carrying U.S. diplomatic officials and medical personnel en route to Caracas.

In a statement to reporters as the U.S. aircraft cleared Venezuelan airspace at around 3:30 p.m., a senior administration official said, “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Rubio, 10 U.S. nationals who were detained by the Maduro regime are on their way home.”

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said that there are now no more Americans detained in Venezuela. Although charges against them were unclear in some cases, Maduro has often accused the CIA and American mercenaries of infiltrating Venezuela in plots to overthrow his government. Their names were not immediately released.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/18/trump-venezuela-el-salvador-cecot-prison/