Two planes carrying Venezuelan citizens released from a prison in El Salvador landed Tuesday evening at an airport in Maiquetia, central Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro thanked US President Donald Trump for helping to carry out the prisoner exchange.
"Finally, they are free," Maduro said joyfully at a public event.
The Trump administration said the Venezuelans were released in exchange for 10 US citizens held in Venezuela, along with some Venezuelan "political prisoners".
The number of people on the two planes was not immediately available, but El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he had returned "all" Venezuelan citizens that the US had transferred to the CECOT "mega-prison" in his country.
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Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador arrive at the international airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela on 18/7. Photo: AFP |
Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador arrive at the international airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela on 18/7. Photo: AFP
In March, the US deported 252 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, detaining them in the notorious CECOT counter-terrorism prison. The US claimed these individuals were members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. The Trump administration invoked a rarely used wartime law to deport them without trial.
According to AFP, Venezuelan citizens held in El Salvador were not allowed to make phone calls or receive visitors, and their families were not provided with proof that their relatives were still alive.
President Bukele built the CECOT prison in an effort to combat domestic criminal gangs but struck a multi-million dollar deal with the US to allow Washington to deport illegal immigrants there.
US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio thanked President Bukele for "helping to reach an agreement that helped free all Americans imprisoned in Venezuela".
The Venezuelan government said it had to "pay a high price" to bring its citizens held in El Salvador back home. "Terrorists have been exchanged for innocent people," Maduro said.
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American citizens released by Venezuela on 18/7. Photo: US Embassy in Venezuela |
American citizens released by Venezuela on 18/7. Photo: US Embassy in Venezuela
Earlier Tuesday, another plane from Houston landed at the airport in Maiquetia, carrying 244 Venezuelan citizens deported by the US and seven children whom Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said "had been rescued from kidnappings". The children were among those Venezuela said were held in the US after their parents were deported.
Cracking down on and deporting illegal immigrants is one of the Trump administration's key policies. Washington has reached an agreement with Caracas to repatriate undocumented Venezuelans in the US, with repatriation flights occurring almost daily. Some flights depart from Mexico, where many migrants are stranded while trying to enter the US.
Pham Giang (According to AFP)
