U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Richard Grenell, made a surprising announcement on Friday. After meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Grenell was heading back to the U.S. with six American citizens who had been detained in Venezuela. The Trump administration had made it clear that one of Grenell’s main goals during the visit was to bring these Americans home, at a time when the U.S. government is also cracking down on deportations and fighting gang violence.
Grenell didn’t reveal the identities of the six Americans, but he shared a photo of them on a plane, all wearing the light blue uniforms typically worn by prisoners in Venezuela. In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Grenell proudly shared, “We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens.” He added that the group had spoken to Trump, and they couldn’t stop thanking him for the help.
President Trump also celebrated the development, calling it a success in bringing “six hostages home from Venezuela.” While it’s not clear exactly how many Americans were being held in the country, there were reports from Venezuela about at least nine detained citizens. Venezuelan officials had accused many of them of being terrorists or mercenaries working with the U.S., which both the detainees and the U.S. government have denied.
Earlier on Friday, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy for Latin America, said that the goal was to secure the Americans’ release without any trade-offs or conditions, clarifying that this wasn’t a “negotiation for anything.” In fact, this isn’t the first time the U.S. and Venezuela have been involved in prisoner exchanges. Last year, Venezuela freed a group of prisoners, including 10 Americans, after lengthy negotiations, while the U.S. had released a close ally of Maduro.
Maduro himself spoke about the Grenell meeting in a speech on Friday, calling it a positive conversation. He said there were some initial agreements, and he hoped that further cooperation could follow, benefiting both countries and the broader region.
The two sides also discussed migration and sanctions during the meeting. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Grenell was working to ensure that around 400 members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, currently in U.S. custody, would be sent back to Venezuela. The U.S. government is pushing for these deportations, and the Venezuelan government has said they are willing to cooperate in the process.
Grenell’s visit, however, doesn’t mean that the U.S. recognizes Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The two countries have had a tense relationship for years, marked by sanctions and accusations of meddling. Still, they share mutual interests, such as the future of U.S. oil giant Chevron, which is trying to get approval to operate in Venezuela.
After the Biden administration reinstated oil sanctions on Venezuela, the situation around Chevron’s license has been complicated. Although some U.S. officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, believe the license should be reconsidered, others, including Trump, have suggested that the U.S. may stop buying oil from Venezuela altogether.
While tensions remain between the two nations, the return of the six Americans offers a glimmer of hope for future negotiations and cooperation.
