US President Donald Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell said he was headed back to the United States with six American citizens, a surprise development after he met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.
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Officials from the Trump administration had said earlier on Friday that one of Grenell’s top aims for the visit was to secure the release of Americans detained in the country, at a time when the Trump administration has been driving a deportation and anti-gang push in the United States.
Grenell did not name the six men, shown with him aboard an aeroplane in a photo he posted online. They were dressed in light blue outfits used by the Venezuelan prison system.
“We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens,” Grenell posted on X. “They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him.”
Trump cheered the move in his own post, saying Grenell was bringing “six hostages home from Venezuela”.
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It is unclear exactly how many Americans were being held by Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have spoken publicly about at least nine.