Over 200 Venezuelans deported under Trump’s Alien Enemies Act and held in El Salvador’s maximum security prison have returned home in a swap deal involving 10 Americans detained in Venezuela.
More than 200 Venezuelans detained in El Salvador after being deported from the United States earlier this year have returned to Caracas as part of a three-way prisoner exchange involving the U.S. and Venezuela.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele confirmed on Friday that 10 Americans held in Venezuela were en route home. “Their journey home has begun,” he posted on X. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Bukele for facilitating the deal.
Venezuela’s government said 252 deportees were released. President Nicolás Maduro welcomed them at the airport near Caracas. Many were held in El Salvador’s CECOT prison after being deported by the Trump administration using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act—a move criticized for bypassing due process.
“I can’t believe it,” said Angie Rios, whose husband was among the detainees.
Venezuelan authorities also pledged to release 80 political detainees. Meanwhile, seven migrant children separated in the U.S. were reunited with their families in Venezuela.