Venezuela Releases Jailed Americans in Deal That Also Frees Migrants Deported to El Salvador by Us
El Salvador will send back some 300 Venezuelan migrants after the Trump administration agreed to pay $6 million to house them in a notorious Salvadoran prison. The arrangement drew immediate blowback when Trump invoked an 18th-century wartime law to quickly remove men his administration had accused of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang. 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 Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's war on the country's gangs. Human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths and cases of torture inside its walls.
The release of the Venezuelans 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 on the receiving end of accusations of human rights abuses, Maduro for months used the men's detention in El Salvador to flip the script on the US government, forcing even some of his strongest political opponents to agree with his condemnation of the migrants' treatment. The migrants' return will allow Maduro to reaffirm support within his shrinking base while it demonstrates that even if the Trump administration and other nations see him as an illegitimate president, he is still firmly in power.
Venezuelan authorities detained nearly a dozen US citizens in the second half of 2024 and linked them to alleged plots to destabilize the country. They were among the 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. The US government along with several other Western nations does not recognize Maduro's claim to victory and instead points 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 2000 people, mostly poor young men. González fled into exile in Spain to avoid arrest.
Despite the US not recognizing Maduro, the two governments have carried out other recent exchanges. In May, Venezuela freed a US 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. St. Clair was handed over to Richard Grenell, Trump's envoy for special missions, during a meeting on a Caribbean island. Three months earlier, six other Americans whom the US government considered wrongfully detained in Venezuela were released after Grenell met with Maduro at the presidential palace. Grenell during the meeting in Venezuela's capital Caracas urged Maduro to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the US.
Hundreds of Venezuelans have since been deported to their home country, but more than 200 deported from the US have been held since mid-March at the prison in El Salvador. 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. As a result, prominent human rights groups and lawyers working with the Venezuelans on legal cases had little information of their movement until they boarded the plane.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Warns Iran That Its Nuclear Sites Could Be Bombed Again
US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that he would order fresh US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities should Tehran try to restart facilities that the United States bombed last month. Trump issued the threat as he held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf resort on the western coast of Scotland. Iran, which denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, has insisted it will not give up domestic uranium enrichment despite the bombings of three nuclear sites. Trump told reporters that Iran has been sending out "nasty signals" and any effort to restart its nuclear program will be immediately quashed. "We wiped out their nuclear possibilities. They can start again. If they do, we'll wipe it out faster than you can wave your finger at it," Trump said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Sets New Deadline of 10 or 12 Days for Russia to Act on Ukraine
US President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 3-1/2-year-old conflict. Trump has threatened both sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so. Speaking in Scotland, where he is holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month. "I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made." There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. Ukraine welcomed the statement. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, thanked Trump in a social media post for "standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength." Trump, who has expressed annoyance also with Zelenskiy, has not always followed tough talk about Putin with action, citing what he deems a good relationship that the two men have had previously. On Monday, Trump indicated he was not interested in more talks with Putin. He said sanctions and tariffs would be used as penalties for Moscow if it did not meet Trump's demands. "There's no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait? And it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs," Trump said. "I don't want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people." Ukraine had proposed a summit between Putin and Zelenskiy before the end of August, but the Kremlin has said that timeline was unlikely and that a meeting could only happen as a final step to clinch peace. Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that if the West wanted real peace with Ukraine, it would stop supplying Kyiv with weapons. Trump has repeatedly voiced exasperation with Putin for pursuing attacks on Ukraine despite US efforts to end the war. Trump has played up successes in other parts of the world where the United States has helped to broker peace agreements and has been flattered by some leaders who suggest he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize. "I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump said on Monday. "I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen." Trump, who is also struggling to achieve a peace deal in Gaza, has touted his role in ending conflicts between India and Pakistan as well as Rwanda and Congo. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump campaigned on a promise to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine in a day. "We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," Trump said. "And I say that's not the way to do it."
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Says Many Are Starving in Gaza, Vows to Set Up Food Centers
US President Donald Trump said on Monday many people were starving in Gaza and suggested Israel could do more on humanitarian access, as desperate Palestinians hoped for aid a day after the Israeli military announced steps to improve supplies. As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions. Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Trump's assessment put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Monday "there is no starvation in Gaza" and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian group Hamas. Trump, speaking during a visit to Scotland, said Israel has a lot of responsibility for aid flows, and that a lot of people could be saved. "You have a lot of starving people," he said. "We're going to set up food centers," with no fences or boundaries to ease access, Trump said. The US would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation, he said. On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday. UN agencies said a long-term steady supply of aid was needed. The World Food Program said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched - short of the target. Almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments, it said. "Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza," WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, Samer Abdel Jaber, told Reuters. Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters the situation is catastrophic. "At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out," he said. "The catastrophe is here," he said. "Children are dying from starvation, and it's manmade by Israel from A to Z." Netanyahu denied any policy of starvation towards Gaza, saying aid supplies would be kept up whether Israel was negotiating a ceasefire or fighting, he said. HAMAS 'SHALL BE THERE NO MORE' "We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more," Netanyahu said. Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Netanyahu about "various plans" to free hostages still held in the enclave. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The Gaza health ministry said that 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. In Gaza, Palestinians described the challenge of securing aid for their families living in tent encampments, a chaotic and often dangerous process. "Currently aid comes for the strong who can race ahead, who can push others and grab a box or a sack of flour. That chaos must be stopped and protection for those trucks must be allowed," said Emad, 58, who used to own a factory in Gaza City. While some manage to get aid, others are deprived, said Wessal Nabil, from Beit Lahiya. She said her husband was unable to bring aid because of an injured leg. She had tried herself several times but without success. "So who will feed us? Who will give us to drink?" she told Reuters. The WFP said it has 170,000 metric tons of food in the region, outside Gaza, which would be enough to feed the whole population for the next three months if it gets the clearance to bring into the enclave. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that over 120 trucks were distributed in Gaza on Sunday by the UN and international organizations. Some of the trucks that made it into Gaza were seized by desperate Palestinians, and some by armed looters, witnesses said. More aid was expected on Monday. Qatar said it had sent 49 trucks that arrived in Egypt en route for Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies. Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March in what it said was a means to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May. Hamas accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon. Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by fighters, and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people.
