Venezuela frees US prisoners as Maduro calls for 'new start' with America

Richard Grenell meets with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 31, 2025. (Photo/AFP)

Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months have been freed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro after he held talks with a Trump administration official during which Maduro sought a "new beginning in bilateral relations" with Washington.

US President Donald Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced on Friday the release of the six men on social media.

The visit by Grenell came as a shock to many Venezuelans who hoped that Trump would continue the "maximum pressure" campaign he pursued against Maduro during his first term.

Grenell's hours long trip to Venezuela, according to the White House, was focused on Trump's efforts to deport Venezuelans back to their home country, which currently does not accept them, and on the release of the detained Americans.

"We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens," Grenell posted on X along with a photo showing him and the men aboard an aircraft. "They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him."

We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens.

They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him. pic.twitter.com/sCvCO4HQQv
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 1, 2025

Meeting was held in 'mutual respect'

Grenell and Maduro met at the Miraflores presidential palace in one of the first known meetings by the second Trump administration with a government it considers hostile.

But Maduro stressed the meeting had "zero agenda" and that he sought a "new beginning in bilateral relations" with the United States, according to a statement from the government in Caracas.

According to Caracas, the Maduro-Grenell meeting was held in "mutual respect" and various issues were discussed including migration and the "negative impact of economic sanctions."

The government statement also expressed Venezuela's "willingness to maintain open diplomatic channels."

Venezuelan state television aired footage of Grenell and Maduro and said the meeting had been requested by the US government.

Signing an executive order in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump was asked if Grenell being filmed meeting with Maduro lent legitimacy to an administration that the Trump White House hasn’t official recognised.

"No. We want to do something with Venezuela. I’ve been a very big opponent of Venezuela and Maduro," Trump responded.

Trump added that Grenell is "meeting with a lot of different people, but we’re for the people of Venezuela."

Assassination plot

Neither the White House nor Maduro's government immediately released the names of the six who were freed Friday.

A non-profit group that had advocated for the release of a detainee said David Estrella, a 62-yer-old who was last heard from in September, was among those on their way back to the US.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello had accused Estrella of being part of an alleged plot to assassinate Maduro.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that Trump had instructed Grenell to "identify a place and ensure that repatriation flights" carrying Venezuelans, including members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation, "land in Venezuela."

She said Trump also ordered Grenell to "ensure that all US detainees in Venezuela are returned home."

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Source: TRT