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Ten Americans are returning to the U.S. after being released from custody in Venezuela, the Secretary of State said on Friday.
“Thanks to President [Donald] 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. It is unacceptable that Venezuelan regime representatives arrested and jailed U.S. nationals under highly questionable circumstances and without proper due process. Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.”
Rubio also thanked the State Department, inter-agency partners, and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
“Our commitment to the American people is clear: 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,” he added.
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Venezuelans who the U.S. government detained and flew to El Salvador several months ago board a plane Friday bound for Venezuela at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador. (El Salvador’s presidential press office via AP)
He said the U.S. also welcomes the “release of Venezuelan political prisoners and detainees that were also released from Venezuelan prisons. The Trump Administration continues to support the restoration of democracy in Venezuela. The regime’s use of unjust detention as a tool of political repression must end. We reiterate our call for the unconditional release of remaining unjustly and arbitrarily detained political prisoners and foreign nationals.”
The release is part of a prisoner swap in which Bukele agreed to release hundreds of Venezuelans being held in a maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in return for Salvadoran prisoners being held in Venezuela.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the return of 10 Americans from Venezuela on Friday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The U.S. sent the Venezuelans to El Salvador in March through the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Tren de Aragua members without going through immigration procedures. Many of the deportees’ families and lawyers denied the gang connections.
“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 said. “Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes.”
Bukele added that the “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. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of many officials from both the United States and El Salvador, and above all, thanks to Almighty God, it was achieved. In this, as in other matters, I remind you: patience and trust.”
The swap comes months after U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair’s was released from Venezuelan custody after being held there for around six months. (Courtesy of the St. Clair family)
The Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs posted a photo of the hostages on social media along with the message: Ten Americans are are their way home from detention in Venezuela! Thanks to @POTUS @SecRubio @usembassyve @aboehler and many others for your support bringing Americans home.”
Christian Casteneda, whose brother Wilbert, a Navy SEAL, was arrested in a Caracas hotel room last year, said in a statement: “We have prayed for this day for almost a year. My brother is an innocent man who was used as a political pawn by the Maduro regime.”
Lucas Hunter, whose family said he was kidnapped by Venezuelan border guards in January, was also among the 10 Americans released.
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“We cannot wait to see him in person and help him recover from the ordeal,” his younger sister Sophie Hunter said in a statement.
This comes months after U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair’s was released from Venezuelan custody in May after being held there for around six months.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.