Venezuela released 10 jailed Americans on Friday under Trump’s immigrant crackdown on immigrants that were deported by the United States a few months ago.
The resolution represents the diplomatic achievements of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, supporting President Donald Trump’s goal of bringing back Americans imprisoned abroad, and landing the swap he proposed a few months ago in El Salvador.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked President Trump and President Salvador Naive Buquere for securing the agreement.
“Ten Americans detained in Venezuela are heading for freedom,” Rubio tweeted.
Thank you for @potusLeadership, 10 Americans detained in Venezuela are heading for freedom.
I want to thank the team of @statedept & especially the president @nayibbakele To help secure an agreement for the release of all our American detainees, we will further…
– Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) July 18, 2025
El Salvador sends back around 300 Venezuelan immigrants after the Trump administration agrees to pay $6 million to house the infamous Salvador prison. The arrangement quickly took a blow when Trump summoned 18th century wartime laws to quickly eliminate men who accused his administration of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua Street gang.
The Venezuelans were held at the MegaPrison known as the Terrorism Confinement Centre, or Secott. The Secott was built to house gang suspects in the country’s gang war of Salvadra President Naibe Bukere. Human rights groups have documented cases of torture among hundreds of deaths and the walls.
The Venezuelan release is an invaluable victory for Maduro, who is pushing his efforts to assert himself as president despite credible evidence that he lost his re-election last year. Long within the scope of accusations of human rights abuses, Maduro over several months has used the detention of men in El Salvador to overturn the script of the US government, forcing even some of his strongest political enemies to agree to accusations of the treatment of immigrants.
Venezuela’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello advertised the seven children who had been repatriated from the US at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela on July 18, 2025, after a plane carrying Venezuelan immigrants who had been repatriated from the US at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela on July 18, 2025, Venezuela visited the US hosts with seven children, and then promoted the seven children who had pastors. I said. (Photo: Federico Parra/AFP) (Photo by Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
The return of immigrants will allow Maduro to reaffirm his support within his downsized base, but he is still in power, even if the Trump administration and other countries view him as an illegal president.
Venezuelan authorities detained almost 12 US citizens in late 2024, leading them to a alleged conspiracy to destabilise the country. They were among dozens of people, including activists, opposition members and union leaders who were detained in a brutal campaign to crack down on dissent in the 11 months after the Venezuelan government allegedly won reelection.
The US government, along with several other Western countries, is not aware of Maduro’s claims to victory, and instead points to a tally sheet collected by the opposition coalition.
The conflict over the outcome spurred immediate protests, and the government responded by detaining more than 2,000 people, mostly poor young men. Gonzalez fled to a Spanish exile to avoid arrest.
It doesn’t say anything about freedom like the American flag. Ten Americans who have been released from Venezuelan prisons today are back home today @potus, @secrubio & @nayibbakele.
America’s first action. pic.twitter.com/pc6bi0wgnx
– Embajada de los ee.uu., Venezuela (@usembassyve) July 18, 2025
The two governments have been carrying out other recent exchanges, despite the US not recognizing Maduro.
In May, Venezuela released US Air Force veterans about six months later. Scott St. Clair’s family said the language expert who toured four Afghanistan travelled to South America to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
St. Clair was handed over to Trump envoy for a special mission, Richard Grenell, during a meeting on the Caribbean island.
Three months ago, six other Americans the US government believed to have been illegally detained in Venezuela were released after Grenell met Maduro at the Presidential Palace.
During a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, Grenell urged Maduro to reclaim deported migrants who committed crimes in the United States, but hundreds of Venezuelans have since been deported to their home countries, while more than 200 deported from the United States have been held in prisons in El Salvador.
The lawyer has little access to those in prison, it is heavily guarded, and the information is firmly fixed, with the exception of frequently produced state propaganda videos showing tattooed men stuffed behind bars.
As a result, notable human rights groups and lawyers working with Venezuelans in the lawsuit had little information about their movements until they boarded the plane.
Tucker reported from Washington to Mexico City from Janetsky.
