San Salvador (EFE).- The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced on Friday that his government handed over all Venezuelans held in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), accused of belonging to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, in a humanitarian exchange with Venezuela.
“Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes,” the president posted on his X account.
The president of El Salvador shared a video of Venezuelans being handcuffed and placed on two planes under police custody. He noted that those released by Caracas would be heading to El Salvador and would make a brief stop.
“In April, we offered the Venezuelan regime an exchange involving a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, who had been held in its prisons for years, as well as all United States citizens it had held as hostages. These individuals are currently en route to El Salvador, where they will stop briefly before continuing their journey home,” Bukele added.
The Venezuelan government confirmed that the 252 migrants deported by the US to the CECOT in El Salvador were released.
“Venezuela has paid a high price to achieve the freedom of these nationals, through an exchange with US authorities of a group of Americans who were at the disposal of the justice system,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Telegram.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, also posted on X regarding the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela in exchange for Venezuelans incarcerated in El Salvador.
“Thanks to President Donald Trump’s leadership, 10 Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom. I want to thank my team at the US Department of State and especially President Nayib Bukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners.”
According to Bukele, “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.”
“However, thanks to the tireless efforts of many officials from both the US and El Salvador, and above all, thanks to Almighty God, it was achieved. In this, as in other matters, I remind you: patience and trust,” Bukele concluded. EFE
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