Trump and Maduro Governments Agree on Prisoner Releases
The repatriation of 252 Venezuelan migrants held in El Salvador, the release of 10 US prisoners in Venezuela and the planned release of 80 Venezuelan political prisoners
HAVANA TIMES – The Maduro government confirmed through a statement the exchange of 252 Venezuelan migrants imprisoned in El Salvador for 10 US citizens and a group of Venezuelans who will be granted “alternative measures to the deprivation of liberty,” though the statement did not specify how many or who would benefit from the measure.
The text confirms what the president of El Salvador and the US Secretary of State, Nayib Bukele and Marco Rubio respectively, said on social media regarding the exchange of migrants for Venezuelan and US political prisoners.
The statement does name former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who reportedly acted as a mediator in the negotiation process, which, according to Bukele, “took months” of talks with the Maduro regime to achieve the exchange.
Horror from El Salvador prison ends
“Venezuela has paid a high price to secure the freedom of these fellow citizens (the 252 migrants imprisoned in El Salvador) through an exchange with US authorities involving a group of United States citizens who were under the jurisdiction of the justice system for their proven involvement in serious crimes against the peace, independence, and security of the Nation,” the statement from Miraflores said regarding the Americans.
The suffering of 252 Venezuelan migrants who had been irregularly detained in El Salvador—and their families—came to an end this Friday, July 18th. The release of these individuals, which had been demanded for months by international organizations and human rights activists, brings to a close one of the most criticized actions of Donald Trump’s administration regarding migration policy to date.
In Exchange for What?
In a post on his social media account US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that 10 Americans had been released from Venezuelan prisons. These were part of the agreement reached among the US, Venezuela, and El Salvador, which ultimately led to the release of the 252 Venezuelan migrants held at the Counterterrorism Center (Cecot).
However, in his own social media post, Nayib Bukele also mentioned that the agreement included the release of “a considerable number of political prisoners” in Venezuela.
The US embassy in Venezuela published a photo showing 10 men holding US flags. One man wearing a hat stood out at the center of the group — John McNamara, chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in Colombia, who was reportedly a key figure in the agreement driven by Marco Rubio in recent weeks.
Alfredo Romero, from the NGO Foro Penal, confirmed that the release of United States prisoners in Venezuela had been verified, but noted that information was still lacking regarding the release of Venezuelan political prisoners. However, it was confirmed that politicians like Williams Dávila were among those freed.
The Minister of Interior, Diosdado Cabello, confirmed the number of political prisoners to be released in Venezuela: 80 people. Nonetheless, Cabello said that the government had been negotiating with opposition sectors for these releases “for the peace and tranquility of the country.”
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*This news was first published in Spanish in several articles by Efecto Cocuyo and a summary translated and posted in English by Havana Times.