Who are the prisoners released in an unprecedented agreement between US and Venezuela

Americans that Venezuela released on the plane back to their country Reuters US and Venezuela governments made an unprecedented prisoners exchange on Friday (18), with the mediation of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. A total of 252 Venezuelans who had been deported from the United States in March and were at the Terrorist Confinement Center (Cecot), a maximum security in El Salvador, were sent to Venezuela. In return, the government of Nicolás Maduro released ten American citizens detained in Venezuela, as well as an unspecified number of Venezuelans that Washington considers political prisoners, according to authorities from both countries. The operation was the result of weeks of negotiations between the governments of Venezuela and the US. Read 3 more key points that explain rapprochement between US and Venezuela in the new Trump government we analyze what is known about the freed prisoners on both sides: one of the migrants who arrived in Venezuela coming from El Salvador. Getty Images The Venezuelans who were in El Salvador the 252 Venezuelans repatriated on Friday were arrested for four months in Cecot, El Salvador, after an agreement between Trump and Bukele. Many of them have been accused of belonging to criminal organizations such as the Aragua train, although family members, lawyers and activists said there is no evidence about the accusations and that court proceedings were arbitrary. Some of the released gave testimonials, broadcast by the Venezuelan official station Telesur. “We were kidnapped for four months without communication,” one of them said from the plane that took them back, and another added, “We didn’t know the day it was.” They said they had slept in metal plates and was beaten several times a day. The Venezuelans during the return. Getty Images The mother of one of the released spoke from Venezuela to the BBC. She stated that Oscar González Pineda, who worked as an installer of tiles and carpets when he was arrested by the immigration authorities in Dallas, Texas, had no bonds with the Aragua’s Tren gang and said he was happy with his return. The US President justified deportations based on the 1798 foreign enemies law, which gives him the power to stop and deports natives or citizens of “enemies” nations in times of war, outside the proceedings established. President Salvadoran, Nayib Bukele, reiterated on Friday that they were all involved in criminal activities, including murder, rape and theft, although his government has never presented concrete evidence. Some of the deported were arrested at their homes or jobs in the United States and transferred to El Salvador on flights managed by the Trump administration. Many of the returned had tattoos, one of the characteristics that US authorities used to associate them with gangs, according to Getty Images organizations according to judicial documents and testimonials from family members, several of them legally lived in the US, had no criminal records and were not allowed to contest their deportation. Human rights organizations have repeatedly denounced the extreme conditions in Salvadoran prison. Some family members claim that the bonds with criminal gangs were inferred only for their tattoos or other physical characteristics. Those released from prison in Venezuela beyond the ten Americans, Caracas released an unspecified number of Venezuelans classified as political prisoners by the US and human rights organizations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they were arrested for opposing the government of President Maduro. President Bukele spoke of “political prisoners” and helped “free 80 Venezuelans”. The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez (left), spoke with the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, on Friday at Simón Bolívar airport. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was by her side Jesus Vargas/Getty Images The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, in turn, described them as individuals processed by common crimes and acts against the constitutional order. Venezuela Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in statements transmitted by the VTV state channel that one of the released individuals is former deputy Williams Dávila. Asked about other released prisoners, he said he did not have a list at that time, but “some opposition sectors had been saying who had been released” and clarified that “they had already been released.” He indicated that these measures were taken as part of an initiative by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former president of the Spanish government, “who has always been concerned with peace and tranquility in Venezuela.” “This has to do with a negotiation in progress. They know that none of those being released are mere children, none of them, and know what they were accused and why they were accused. It’s a measure to seek peace and tranquility,” said Cabello. Dávila’s son, William Dávila Valeri, confirmed her father’s liberation on social networks: “We look forward to gathering as a family and recovering lost time together.” The non-governmental organization Committee for the Liberation of Political Prisoners (Clipp) also informed the X that on Friday, “mothers and family confirmed the release of various political prisoners detained in the post-election context and kept in Tocorón and some in El Helicoide.” Initially, they offered a list of 14 names, which has since been expanded to 28. “This news fills us with strength and hope, but it also reminds us that freedom is for everyone.” Foreigners released by mature US officials released a photograph of the ten released Americans, whose identities were confirmed by the Global Reach NGO, which works to bring back Americans detained abroad. The group of released Americans, in a photograph released by the US embassy in Venezuela Reuters among them is Lucas Hunter, a 37 -year -old American and French citizen who was arrested in January while practicing windsurfing and riding a motorcycle on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. According to his family, Venezuelan agents forced him to cross the border and arrested him. They haven’t had contact with him ever since. “My family and I are very happy to know that my brother, Lucas, was released by Venezuela today,” said Sophie Hunter, her sister, in a statement released Friday by Global Reach. “We can barely wait to see him in person and help him recover,” he added. “We are grateful to President Trump for having made this question a priority for his team.” Lucas Hunter’s family states that he was captured by the Venezuelan authorities in Colombian territory Freelucas. With another released is Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gómez, a first -class US Navy, detained in Caracas last August while visiting a friend. His family claims that he was arrested without cause and used as a bargain instrument by the Maduro government. According to official sources cited by the American media, Castañeda was not on an official mission, but on a personal trip. “We pray for him every day for almost a year,” said his brother Christian Castañeda in a statement published by The Washington Post. “We are happy that he is free and being able to receive the treatment and help he deserves, and being able to celebrate his next 38th birthday with his family in freedom.” Newsweek magazine reports that the Foley Foundation, dedicated to the release of unfairly arrested American citizens abroad, has appointed other Americans who were released by the Maduro government: Jorge Marcelo Vargas, who was arrested for 304 days, and Renzo Castillo, who was arrested for 299 days. Meanwhile, Hostage Aid Worldwide appointed two others: Jonathan Pagan González, who was arrested in October, and Fabian Buglione Reyes, a US -resident Uruguayan citizen, who was arrested at a control post in October. The Maduro government maintains that the returned Americans committed serious crimes against the state, while Washington considers them political prisoners or unjustly detained. Despite the exchange of prisoners in the current context, no change in the sanctions imposed by the US to Venezuela is expected, nor the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which still lack the official mutual representation. 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