The U.S. Embassy announced late Friday that all known American citizens who were detained in Venezuela have been released. They expressed satisfaction with this development, stating, “We are pleased to confirm the release by transitional authorities of all known U.S. nationals detained in Venezuela.” They also urged anyone with information about still-detained citizens to reach out to U.S. Civil Services.
No additional details about the detainees have been disclosed, and inquiries were made to the State Department for further information.
In recent weeks, transitional authorities have gradually freed American detainees, which seems to correlate with the U.S. detention of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his spouse. Currently, both are held in New York City on federal charges related to drug terrorism.
Earlier this month, Venezuela’s transitional government noted the release of 116 prisoners, although a non-governmental organization, Justicia Encuentro y Perdon, has confirmed about 70 of those cases.
The U.S. government had previously issued a travel alert in January, advising against travel to Venezuela and urging Americans in the country to leave immediately, as the security situation remains volatile. The embassy in Bogotá reiterated concerns about traveling to Venezuela, a warning that dates back to 2019.
Venezuela is currently led by Delcy Rodríguez, who was once Maduro’s second in command. Notably, this week, Rodríguez enacted a law restructuring the oil sector, allowing for privatization and shifting away from the socialist policies that have dominated the country for over two decades.
As a side note, President Donald Trump mentioned earlier this year that U.S. energy companies plan to invest $100 billion to revamp Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and increase production significantly.
