Multiple Americans imprisoned in Venezuela have been released, Trump administration says
FILE - People display portraits of political prisoners during a demonstration by relatives at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas on Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump administration on Tuesday shared that multiple Americans who were detained in Venezuela have been released.
Their release comes as the head of Venezuela’s national assembly said a "significant number" of imprisoned foreigners would be released as a gesture to "seek peace" following the military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
What they're saying:
"We welcome the release of detained Americans in Venezuela," the State Department said.
Dozens of political prisoners released
By the numbers:
As of Tuesday evening, the Venezuela human rights group Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed.
The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization’s count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases or a time range in which they were carried out, nor did it identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
The backstory:
In July 2025, Venezuela released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the U.S. to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press.