U.S. envoy leaves Venezuela with six Americans after meeting with President Nicolas Maduro


President Donald Trump’s envoy, Richard Grenelll, said Friday that he was returning to the United States with six US citizens, a surprise development after meeting with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

Trump administration officials had said Friday earlier than one of Grenelll’s main objectives for the visit was to ensure the release of Americans detained in the country, at a time when the Trump administration has been promoting a deportation and an impulse Anti-Gang in the United States.

Grenell did not appoint the six men, shown with him aboard a plane in a photo he published online. They were dressed in light blue outfits used by the Penezolaan Penitisan system.

The envoy of special missions of President Donald Trump, Richard Grenelll, third right, poses aboard a plane with six US citizens released from detention in Venezuela recently. @Richard Grenelll/AFP through Getty Images

“We are upside down and we headed home with these 6 American citizens,” Grenelll published in X. “They simply talked to @realdonaldtrump and could not stop thanking him.”

Trump cheered the movement in his own position, saying that Grenell was bringing “six hostages to Venezuela’s house.”

It is not clear exactly how many Americans were in the hands of Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have publicly talked about at least nine.

Maduro’s officials accused most of them of terrorism and said that some were high -level “mercenaries.” The Venezuelan government regularly accuses opposition members and foreign detainees of conspiracy with the United States to commit terrorism. American officials have always denied plots.

“American hostages that are held in Venezuela … must be released immediate A negotiation in exchange for anything. “

At the end of 2023, the Venezuelan government released dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, after months of negotiations, while the United States released a close ally of Maduro.

Maduro told officials in an annual speech before the Judiciary on Friday night that the meeting between him and Grenell had been positive.

“There are things in which we have reached the initial agreements and when they are fulfilled, new problems will open, hopefully, the new agreements for the good of the two countries and the region,” Maduro said, and added that he would seek to see what It had been discussed with Grenelll was reflected in what the United States communicated about the meeting.

“President Donald Trump, we have taken a first step, we hope he can continue,” Maduro said. “We would like to continue.”

Maduro and Grenell also discussed migration and sanctions in the presidential palace, the Venezuelan government said in a statement on the earliest Friday.

The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said early on Friday that Grenell also focused on ensuring that 400 members of the Aragua Train gang under the custody of the United States are returned to Venezuela.

An agreement on the deportations of Aragua’s train was “not negotiable,” said Claver-Carone.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab said last week that the gang had been dismantled in Venezuela in 2023, but that he was willing to restart legal cooperation with the United States to extradite gang members.

Since he took power on January 20, Trump initiated a broad immigration repression, promising mass deportations.

Some 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States were eligible to represent the repressions granted by the previous administration, but the United States National Security Secretary Kristi Noem said it would reduce the duration of protections. She must decide for Saturday to finish them.

Grenelll’s visit does not mean that the United States recognizes Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, Leavitt said.

The two countries have a recent tense history marked by broken relationships, sanctions and accusations of blows compensation.

But they share interest in several pending bilateral issues, including a license that allows the main oil of the United States to operate in Venezuela.

The administration of the former president of the United States, Joe Biden, restored the broad sanctions of oil after Maduro failed A Trump limited options for additional sanctions.

The victory supported by the Maduro government in the vote of July 2024 is disputed by the opposition, international observers and numerous countries, including the United States.

The Maduro government has always rejected the sanctions of the United States and others, saying that they are illegitimate measures that are equivalent to an “economic war” designed to paralyze Venezuela.

The Financial Times reported Friday that Chevron is trying to protect a special US license allowing him to operate in Venezuela.

Chevron’s executive president Mike Wirth told the newspaper that the company would get involved with the White House, after Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the license should be reconsidered and Trump said that the United States would probably stop buying Oil to Venezuela.



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