El Salvador sends detained Venezuelans home in swap for Americans
FILE PHOTO: Family members of Venezuelan migrants, who the U.S. alleged were members of the Tren de Aragua gang and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison in El Salvador, hold signs and pictures of their loved ones, during a protest outside the United Nations building, in Caracas, Venezuela April 22, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
WASHINGTON/CARACAS - El Salvador is sending home Venezuelans detained in the country in a prison exchange for Americans held in Venezuela, President Nayib Bukele said on Friday.
Bukele, in a post on X, said those freed in Venezuela were en route to El Salvador from where they would continue "their journey home."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release of "ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela" and thanked Bukele for his help in securing the agreement.
Reuters reported earlier on Friday that the prison swap was happening.
The Venezuelan government confirmed that 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador had been freed, calling the El Salvador prison where they have been held a "concentration camp".
The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador in March after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without going through normal immigration procedures.
Family members of many of the Venezuelans and their lawyers deny they had gang ties, and say they were not given a chance to contest the Trump administration's allegations in court.
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Venezuela's government has always decried the detention of its citizens as a violation of human rights and international law. But the government's critics say the country holds activists and opposition figures in similar conditions in Venezuela. REUTERS
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