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The Trump administration said Tuesday that multiple Americans detained in Venezuela have been released, following the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it welcomed the release of “detained Americans in Venezuela” and called it “an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities.”
The State Department did not provide the exact numbers of Americans freed. A person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity said four Americans were released as a group Tuesday and one was released quietly Monday, describing details that were not included in the public U.S. statement.
The releases came amid broader prisoner movements in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture, with officials describing the steps as part of an effort to reduce tensions. Venezuela’s national assembly president, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the military operation that the move followed.
As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal, a Venezuela human rights organization, said it had confirmed 56 prisoners it described as detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency about the releases, saying the information available was incomplete and did not allow independent verification of the full scope and timing of who was released.
Venezuela’s government rejected Foro Penal’s count and said a far higher number—400—had been released in an update reported Tuesday afternoon. The government, however, did not provide evidence of the releases, did not provide a time range for when they were carried out, and did not identify those who had been freed, leaving observers unable to determine whether the released prisoners were detained for political reasons or under other circumstances.
The American releases also fit into a pattern of limited, transactional cooperation between Washington and Caracas. The two countries have previously conducted prisoner swaps, and releases have been among the few areas where relations have moved despite a long-running feud and an ongoing diplomatic standoff.
In July, Venezuela released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for U.S. deportations of migrants deported to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. This latest round of releases, reported by Bloomberg earlier, adds another test of whether the two sides can expand contact in the wake of Maduro’s removal from power.