US sends 250 deportees to Venezuela from El Salvador in exchange for 10 Americans

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration completed a largescale prisoner swap with Venezuela on Friday (local time), sending about 250 Venezuelans, who had been deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, back to their home country, in exchange for 10 US nationals, officials said, as per CNN.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Venezuelan President Nayib Bukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees.

In a post on X, he said, “Thanks to US President Donald Trump’s leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom. I want to thank my team at the Department of State and especially President Nayib Bukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners”.

Thanks to @POTUS’s leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom.

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…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 18, 2025

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… pic.twitter.com/teuIT4GiRT

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) July 18, 2025

The US External Office for Venezuela (VAU) said in a post on X, “Nothing says freedom like the American flag. Ten Americans freed from Venezuelan prisons today are coming home because of US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuelan President Nayib Bukele. America First in action”.

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. pic.twitter.com/pc6bI0Wgnx

— Embajada de los EE.UU., Venezuela (@usembassyve) July 18, 2025

American hostages have been released from Venezuela and are finally coming home. Thank you @POTUS and @SecRubio for your unwavering commitment to reuniting these families. https://t.co/8nN7iLg0P9

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman (@SenateForeign) July 18, 2025

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 pic.twitter.com/0lnxkBEZ9S

— Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (@StateSPEHA) July 18, 2025

Among the Americans released were Jorge Marcelo Vargas, Lucas Hunter and Wilbert Joseph Castaneda, CNN reported.

In March, the Trump administration used a sweeping wartime authority to swiftly deport more than 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where they were detained in a notorious mega-prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The deportations caught immigration attorneys and family members by surprise and prompted fierce public backlash.

While the federal government hasn’t provided a public accounting of the people on the March flights, attorneys and relatives have confirmed some of those who were transferred to El Salvador. The United States had classified the deportees as gang members in court, though immigration attorneys, advocates and family members have pushed back on that, claiming in many cases that the detainees had no criminal record.

It was not immediately clear if these Venezuelans would be held as prisoners when they return to their home country, CNN reported. (ANI)