Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Friday that Venezuela freed 10 United States prisoners in exchange for hundreds of Venezuelan nationals the Trump administration deported to El Salvador earlier this year.

A former Navy SEAL, Wilbert Joseph Castaneda, who was detained and jailed in Venezuela last year while on personal travel, is among the Americans released, according to CBS News. 

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“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, adding that the veteran suffered several traumatic brain injuries during his 18 years in the Navy that “impaired his judgment and risk mitigation” and “led him to make a bad decision to travel to Venezuela.” 

Key elements of the three-country deal were initially proposed by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in April.

In addition to the 10 Americans sent home under the agreement implemented Friday, El Salvador is sending 252 Venezuelans back to their country. The U.S. deported the Venezuelans, accused of belonging to the country’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang, to a Salvadoran prison in March. Bukule handed them over to Venezuela this week in exchange for Salvadoran nationals, he said, who had been jailed as “political prisoners” by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for years. 

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“These individuals are now en route to El Salvador, where they will make a brief stop before continuing their journey home,” Bukule wrote in a post to X. 

“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,” he continued. “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.”