10 Americans Released from Venezuela in Exchange for Prisoners in El Salvador
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Friday's exchange was the result of months of negotiations involving U.S., Salvadoran, and Venezuelan officials. Bukele didn't say how many prisoners from each county were exchanged. In a video he posted on X, tattooed Venezuelans in handcuffs walked between rows of security forces clad in riot gear to board a plane.
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Chicago Tribune
26 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Venezuela releases 10 jailed Americans in deal that frees migrants deported to El Salvador by US
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela released 10 jailed Americans on Friday in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, officials said. The complex, three-country arrangement represents a diplomatic achievement for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, helps President Donald Trump in his goal of bringing home Americans jailed abroad and lands Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele a swap that he proposed months ago. 'Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in which he thanked Bukele, a Trump ally. Bukele said El Salvador had handed over all the Venezuelan nationals in its custody. Maduro described Friday as 'a day of blessings and good news for Venezuela' during his address to a gathering of agriculture producers. 'Today is the perfect day for Venezuela,' he said. 'Today has been a splendid day.' Central to the deal are more than 250 Venezuelan migrants freed by El Salvador, which in March agreed to a $6 million payment from the Trump administration to house them in its notorious prison. That arrangement drew immediate blowback when Trump invoked an 18th century wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to quickly remove the men that his administration had accused of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang, teeing up a legal fight that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The administration did not provide evidence to back up those claims. The Venezuelans have been held in a mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, which was built to hold alleged gang members in Bukele's war on the country's gangs. Human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths as well as cases of torture inside its walls. Lawyers have little access to those in the prison, which is heavily guarded, and information has been locked tight, other than heavily produced state propaganda videos showing tattooed men packed behind bars. Photos and videos released by El Salvador's government on Friday showed shackled Venezuelans sitting in a fleet of buses and boarding planes surrounded by officers in riot gear. One man looked up and pointed toward the sky as he climbed aboard a plane, while another made an obscene gesture toward police. In April, in a heated exchange of diplomatic letters with Venezuela, Bukele proposed exchanging the Venezuelans for the same number of what he called 'political prisoners' held by Maduro. It provoked a harsh response from Venezuelan authorities, who called his comments 'cynical' and referred to Bukele as a 'neofascist.' The State Department office responsible for negotiating the release of American detainees posted a photo Friday evening of the newly released prisoners smiling for the camera inside an airplane bringing them home, some clutching an unfurled American flag. Among those released was 37-year-old Lucas Hunter, whose family says he was kidnapped in January by Venezuelan border guards from inside Colombia, where he was vacationing. 'We cannot wait to see him in person and help him recover from the ordeal,' his younger sister Sophie Hunter said. Venezuelan authorities detained nearly a dozen U.S. citizens in the second half of 2024 and linked them to alleged plots to destabilize the country. '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,' said a statement from Christian Casteneda, whose brother Wilbert, a Navy SEAL, was arrested in his Caracas hotel room last year. Global Reach, a nonprofit organization that had advocated for his release and that of several other Americans, said Venezuelan officials initially and falsely accused him of being involved in a coup but backed off that claim. The release of the Venezuelans, meanwhile, is an invaluable win for Maduro as he presses his efforts to assert himself as president despite credible evidence that he lost reelection last year. Long accused of human rights abuses, Maduro for months has used the migrants' detention in El Salvador to flip the script on the U.S. government, forcing even some of his strongest political opponents to agree with his condemnation of the migrants' treatment. Their return will allow Maduro to reaffirm support within his shrinking base, while demonstrating that even if the Trump administration and other nations see him as an illegitimate president, he is still firmly in power. Just a week ago, the U.S. State Department reiterated its policy of shunning Maduro government officials and recognizing only the National Assembly elected in 2015 as the legitimate government of the country. Signed by Rubio, the cable said U.S. officials are free to meet and have discussions with National Assembly members 'but cannot engage with Maduro regime representatives unless cleared by the Department of State.' The Americans were among dozens of people, including activists, opposition members and union leaders, that Venezuela's government took into custody in its brutal campaign to crack down on dissent in the 11 months since Maduro claimed to win reelection. Besides the U.S., several other Western nations also do not recognize Maduro's claim to victory. They instead point to tally sheets collected by the opposition coalition showing that its candidate, Edmundo González, won the July 2024 election by a more than a two-to-one margin. The dispute over results prompted immediate protests, and the government responded by detaining more than 2,000 people, mostly poor young men. González fled into exile in Spain to avoid arrest. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have migrated since 2013, when its oil-dependent economy came undone and Maduro became president. Most settled in Latin America and the Caribbean, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, many saw the U.S. as their best chance to improve their living conditions. Despite the U.S. not recognizing Maduro, the two governments have carried out other recent exchanges. In May, Venezuela freed a U.S. Air Force veteran after about six months in detention. Scott St. Clair's family has said the language specialist, who served four tours in Afghanistan, had traveled to South America to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Three months earlier, six other Americans whom the U.S. government considered wrongfully detained in Venezuela were released after Richard Grenell, Trump's envoy for special missions, met with Maduro at the presidential palace. Grenell, during the meeting in Caracas, urged Maduro to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. Hundreds of Venezuelans have since been deported to their home country, including 251 people, including seven children, who arrived Friday. Maduro's government had accused the Trump administration of 'kidnapping' the children by placing them in foster care after their parents were deported.
UPI
27 minutes ago
- UPI
Migrants in El Salvador prison swapped for Americans held in Venezuela
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured the Terrorist Confinement Center CECOT with El Salvador's minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26. File Photo by Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- About 250 Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador's maximum-security prison in March have been sent to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap that included Americans on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rucio posted on X: "Thanks for @Potus' leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom." El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele 10 minutes earlier posted on X: "Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages." The post included video of deportees boarding a plane. 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). Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes. As was offered to the Venezuelan... Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) July 18, 2025 "These individuals are now en route to El Salvador, where they will make a brief stop before continuing their journey home," Bukele said. The freed Americans include former Navy SEAL Wilbert Joseph Castaneda, who was detained last year while on personnel travel, three sources told CBS News. "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," Castaneda's family said in a statement. He had suffered several traumatic brain injuries during his 18 years in the Navy and his decision-making was affected, his family said. The State Department warned Americans not to travel to Venezuela. The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela posted a photo of the freed Americans and U.S. diplomat John McNamara. Nothing says freedom like the American flag. Ten Americans freed from Venezuelan prisons today are coming home because of @POTUS, @SecRubio & @nayibbukele. America First in action. Embajada de los Venezuela (@usembassyve) July 18, 2025 The Venezuelan government also released several dozen people described as Venezuelan political prisoners and detainees, a senior administration official told CBS News. The flight, which originated from Texas, included several children, Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's minister of Interior, Justice and Peace, said in televised remarks. "We will keep demanding the return of all the Venezuelans kidnapped by the government of the United States, kidnapped by the government of El Salvador," he said. "All of them, we demand that they return them to our country. To their home country." Family members told CNN they had been told to gather for an emergency meeting in Venezuela ahead of the release. The Trump administration made a deal with Bukele to send the deported migrants to CECOT prison as part of a $6 million deal. Bukele said there were "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." Rubio also congratulated those involved in the negotiations: "I want to thank my team at the @StateDept & especially President @nayibbukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners." In March, the CECOT detainees were sent under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which is rarely deployed and used typically during wartime. The Trump administration declared Trend de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, an invading force. Family members have said the detainees were denied due process and are not members of the gang. Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man living legally in the United States, was mistakenly deported from Baltimore to the prison without due process. The Trump administration acknowledged the mistake in a legal filing though they still allege he is a member of the MS-13 gang. He was initially at the prison but went to another one in the county. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S. He was sent in June to face federal smuggling charges in Tennesse, which he denies.
New York Times
27 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Asked a Court to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Testimony
The Justice Department asked a federal judge this afternoon to unseal grand jury testimony from the prosecution of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump had requested the move in an effort to dispel a storm of criticism and conspiracy theories coming from many of his supporters. The request was filed in Manhattan, where Epstein was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges six years ago when he was found dead by hanging in his jail cell about a month after he was arrested. The government also sought the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite who was convicted of helping Epstein facilitate his sex trafficking scheme. You can read the Justice Department's full request here. Obtaining court approval for unsealing the testimony could be difficult because the records are shielded by grand jury secrecy laws, to protect crime victims and witnesses. Judges rarely agree to grant public access to such materials. In related news, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal's parent company over a report that he sent a birthday greeting with a sexually suggestive drawing to Epstein in 2003. The president insisted he doesn't 'draw pictures,' but many of his sketches have sold at action. A prisoner swap freed Americans jailed in Venezuela Ten Americans and U.S. permanent residents who had been seized by the Venezuelan authorities and held as bargaining chips were freed today. In exchange, more than 200 Venezuelan migrants whom the Trump administration sent to a prison in El Salvador were also released. Venezuela's government began detaining and imprisoning foreigners late last year. Among them was Lucas Hunter, a 37-year-old U.S. and French citizen whose family said he visited the region to go kite surfing, and Wilbert Castañeda, a 37-year-old former Navy Seal who had traveled to Venezuela to meet a romantic partner. The Venezuelan migrants had been deported from the U.S. after the Trump administration accused them of being members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Most of the roughly 250 men did not have criminal records, beyond immigration offenses. Trump's public media cuts were decades in the making In the 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act into law, PBS, NPR and other public broadcasters in the United States have received more than $500 million annually from the government. That support now appears to be over, after the House gave final approval to the cuts. Some conservatives have been calling for an end to the funding for decades, arguing that organizations like NPR and PBS had a liberal bias. In a video, Benjamin Mullin, a media reporter for The Times, talks about the impact the cuts will have. Once the payments stop in the fall, more than 100 combined TV and radio stations in rural pockets of the country will be at risk of going dark. This map shows the stations at the most risk. A Kennedy aide's company can get you a tax break for hot dogs An insomnia diagnosis yielded a recommendation for hot dogs. An acne diagnosis called for classes at a mixed-martial-arts gym. And as an added bonus, the purchases can be made thorough a tax-free account because they were blessed by a medical provider. Such tax benefits are made possible by the wellness start-up Truemed, which was co-founded by Calley Means, a close aide to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. It helps people obtain letters attesting to a medical need for such products, which one critic called 'a tax break for upper-middle-class people.' More top news Los Angeles: Three sheriff's deputies were killed in an explosion at a training center. The cause is under investigation. Brazil: The Supreme Court ordered Jair Bolsonaro, the former president, to wear an ankle monitor and stay home most hours, defying Trump's demands to drop charges against him. Education: With a crucial hearing scheduled for Monday, the government is demanding more information about staff members and international students from Harvard University. Health: In a rare look into a largely hidden subject, The Times found that prescription drug denial rates by private insurers in the U.S. jumped 25 percent from 2016 to 2023. Energy: Chevron completed its purchase of Hess after prevailing in a legal dispute with Exxon Mobil over one of the most promising oil projects in the world. Fossils: The anatomy of a newly discovered Pulaosaurus offered a hint that birdsong may be as old as the dinosaurs themselves. Lives Lived: Felix Baumgartner, a professional daredevil who did a skydive from the edge of space in 2012, died at 56. A star ballerina says goodbye Gillian Murphy, one of American Ballet Theater's most enduring talents, is stepping down after 29 years with the company. Tonight, Murphy, 46, will dance her final performance, Odette-Odile in 'Swan Lake,' opposite her friend James Whiteside. It's a complicated ballet, and Whiteside said it was 'completely unhinged' to go out with something so arduous. But that's the kind of ballerina Murphy always has been: full of joy and aplomb. Elsewhere in the performing arts world: 'Chicago' and 'A Chorus Line' are now 50 years old. We asked a Broadway star to show us the moves that made them so special. Everything you need to know about campfire cooking The summer is always a great time to escape into the great outdoors. And with a little bit of planning, you can enjoy some remarkable meals made over a campfire. Take it from Ali Slagle, who writes recipes for The Times and travels the country in a camper van. Ali put together a guide answering all of the most common reader questions about cooking over crackling flames. She explains what supplies to bring, how to build and manage the fire, as well as what kind of recipes work best. Dinner table topics Extra! Extra!: Read all about the last newspaper hawker in Paris. 'Alt comedy': The term has fallen out of fashion, but the experimental spirit of the genre lives on. Amateur sleuth: In retirement, Lou Schachter decided to hunt for stolen artworks. He's had some success. Make a ruling: Should you silence your phone around your spouse? Cook: This no-bake peaches and cream cake is the perfect end to a summer meal. Watch: 'Smurfs' is one of the movies that got our critics talking this week. Read: Here are seven new books we love. Listen: This calm and graceful cello piece by Bach could change your day. Admire: New York's best summer art shows are upstate. Here's what to check out. Travel: These are the basketball star A'ja Wilson's five favorite places in Las Vegas. Consider: Is 'joyspan' the key to aging well? Test yourself: Take this week's news quiz. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. With just 5 fingers, he makes the sound of so many hands Twenty years ago, Nicholas McCarthy was turned away from his local music school. He had been born without a right hand, and a school official doubted he could play piano adequately. Now McCarthy is set to prove his doubters wrong. He is the leading pianist for a concert this weekend at the Proms, Britain's most prominent classical music series. McCarthy has established his success by mastering pieces composed for the left hand alone — some written by a pianist hoping to wow audiences by smoking with his right hand. When my colleague Alex Marshall watched McCarthy perform, he was stunned: 'It was hard to believe McCarthy was producing all that emotion, all that sound, with two hands, let alone just one.' Have a superb weekend. Thanks for reading. I'll be back on Monday. — Matthew Hiroko Masuike was our photo editor. We welcome your feedback. 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