Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela are heading home to the US, President Donald Trump announced Friday, after his envoy met with the country\u2019s President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. <\/p>\n
US officials have not yet given details of the six detainees released, but Trump\u2019s envoy for special missions Richard Grenell posted a picture on X of himself with the men aboard a plane. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just been informed that we are bringing six hostages home from Venezuela,\u201d Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. \u201cThank you to Ric Grenell and my entire staff. Great job!\u201d <\/p>\n
Grenell\u2019s picture shows four of the released Americans wearing light blue outfits commonly worn by people held in the Venezuelan prison system. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are wheels up and headed home with these six American citizens. They just spoke to President Trump, and they couldn\u2019t stop thanking him,\u201d Grenell wrote in his post. <\/p>\n
Maduro\u2019s claim to a third term has been contested by the country\u2019s opposition, which has published thousands of voting tallies that suggested their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won the election in July last year. They were backed by independent observers such as the Carter Center and the Colombian Electoral Mission. <\/p>\n
Like the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, the US does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela\u2019s legitimate leader. It has placed a raft of sanctions or visa restrictions on Maduro-aligned officials. Washington has no diplomatic presence in Venezuela. <\/p>\n
In September the US seized Maduro\u2019s airplane. <\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s prisoner release came after a meeting between Grenell and Maduro, which had been expected to cover the deportation of Venezuelan nationals from the US. Trump has prioritized his campaign promise of mass deportations but Maduro has refused to take Venezuelan nationals back \u2013 and the US has generally been unable to send Venezuelans back because of frosty relations. <\/p>\n
Gonzalez, who the US recognizes as Venezuela\u2019s president-elect and who attended Trump\u2019s inauguration, has warned the White House against cutting a deal with Maduro on deportation flights. <\/p>\n
As Grenell headed to the meeting on Friday, Trump was asked if his envoy being photographed with Maduro would lend legitimacy to the Venezuelan leader. <\/p>\n
The US President told reporters he wanted to \u201cdo something with Venezuela,\u201d but noted that he was \u201ca big opponent of Venezuela and Maduro.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve treated us not so good, but they\u2019ve treated, more importantly, the Venezuelan people, very badly,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Maduro said in an annual speech to the judiciary late on Friday evening that the meeting with Grenell had yielded some initial deals and he looked forward to \u201cnew deals for the good of the two countries and the region,\u201d according to Reuters. <\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Donald Trump, we have made a first step, hopefully it can continue,\u201d Maduro said. <\/p>\n
Maduro and Grenell also discussed issues of migration and sanctions, according to a Venezuelan government statement on Friday. <\/p>\n
Under Maduro \u2013 in office since 2013 \u2013 oil-rich Venezuela has fallen into a deep economic and political crisis, gripped by hyperinflation. Millions of people have fled the country in fear and desperation. <\/p>\n
The State Department advises Americans against traveling to Venezuela, warning that \u201cthere is a high risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals.\u201d <\/p>\n
Nine Americans were brought home from Venezuela by the Biden administration in 2022 after five years of detention in the country. <\/p>\n
In December 2023, the US secured the release of six wrongfully detained Americans and four other Americans held in Venezuela. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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