Multiple American citizens detained in Venezuela have been released, the U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday.
“We welcome the release of detained Americans in Venezuela,” the department said, adding: “This is an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities.”
The development follows a stunning nighttime raid earlier this month, during which the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last week, Venezuela’s national assembly head, Jorge Rodríguez, indicated that a “significant number” of both Venezuelan and foreign prisoners would be freed. He described the move as a gesture to “seek peace” following the military operation that deposed Maduro.
As of Tuesday evening, the Venezuela human rights group Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization’s count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases or a time range in which they were carried out, nor did it identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
In July, Venezuela released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
