Venezuelan security forces have detained several Americans in the months since the Trump administration began a military and economic pressure campaign against the government of the South American nation, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
Some of the detainees face legitimate criminal charges, while the U.S. government is considering designating at least two prisoners as wrongfully detained, according to the official. Those arrested include three Venezuelan-American dual passport holders and two American citizens with no known ties to the country, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.
President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has long used detained Americans, whether guilty or innocent of serious crimes, as bargaining chips in negotiations with Washington, his greatest adversary.
President Trump has made the release of Americans held overseas a priority in his two presidencies, and sent his envoy, Richard Grenell, to Venezuela to negotiate a prisoner deal days after the start of his second term.
The ensuing period of talks between U.S. and Venezuelan officials resulted in the release of 17 American citizens and permanent residents held in Venezuela.
But the Trump administration’s decision to suspend those talks in favor of a military and economic pressure campaign against Mr. Maduro put an end to prisoner releases. The number of detained Americans in Venezuela began to rise again in the fall, according to the U.S. official. That rise coincided with the deployment of a U.S. naval armada in the Caribbean and the start of airstrikes against boats that Washington says transport drugs on Mr. Maduro’s orders.
The United States further escalated its pressure campaign this month, targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and paralyzing the country’s biggest source of exports.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia, which deals with Venezuelan affairs, declined to comment on American detainees in Venezuela, and referred questions to the U.S. State Department.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Venezuela’s Communication Ministry, which handles the government’s press requests, did not respond to a request for comment.
