Ten Americans, some of whom had been held hostage for months by Venezuela’s socialist government, are heading back home after the Trump administration secured their release on Friday.
In exchange for the 10 Americans, over 200 Venezuelan migrants that the United States had sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison will be released to Venezuela, The New York Times reported.
“Thanks to@POTUS’s leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X. “I want to thank my team at the @StateDep & especially [Salvadoran] President @nayibbukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners.”
Bukele said on Friday that his government “handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TDA). Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes.”
The American hostages will make a stop in El Salvador after being released by Venezuela before returning to the United States.
“This operation is the result of months of negotiations with a tyrannical regime that had long refused to release one of its most valuable bargaining chips: its hostages,” Bukele wrote in a post shared by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “However, thanks to the tireless efforts of many officials from both the United States and El Salvador, and above all, thanks to Almighty God, it was achieved.”
Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TDA). Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes.
As was offered to the Venezuelan… pic.twitter.com/teuIT4GiRT
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) July 18, 2025
Among the Americans held hostage by Venezuela is former Navy SEAL Wilbert Joseph Castaneda, who was detained last year while traveling, CBS News reported.
“We have prayed for this day for almost a year. My brother is an innocent man who was used as a political pawn by the Maduro regime,” Castaneda’s family said in a statement. The family added that several traumatic brain injuries Castaneda suffered while serving his country “impaired his judgment and risk mitigation” and “led him to make a bad decision to travel to Venezuela.”
Another freed hostage is Lucas Hunter, an American and French citizen, who was on a kite surfing trip in Colombia when he was nabbed by Venezuelan authorities near the border, according to the Times.
A photo posted by the U.S. embassy in Venezuela showed the freed hostages waving American flags.
Nothing says freedom like the American flag. Ten Americans freed from Venezuelan prisons today are coming home because of @POTUS, @SecRubio & @nayibbukele.
America First in action. pic.twitter.com/pc6bI0Wgnx
— Embajada de los EE.UU., Venezuela (@usembassyve) July 18, 2025
The release of the 10 Americans on Friday comes after the Trump administration got six Americans back home from the South American country in late January. After their release, some of the American hostages told the Times that they were beaten and subjected to “psychological torture.”
The United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela, which is led by dictator Nicolas Maduro, targeting the country’s government and oil sector “in response to Maduro’s repression.”