U.S. Officials Knew a Triple Murderer Was Among Detainees Being Released From Venezuela In Deal With Maduro

At least some officials in the Trump administration knew that a triple murdered was among the detainees taken from Venezuela to the U.S. as part of a large prisoner swap that included Salvadoran authorities, according to a new report.

The New York Times detailed that "at least some people in the Trump administration" knew about the criminal past of Dahud Hanid Ortiz, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing three people in Spain but fled to the South American country.

The outlet added that the crimes of Ortiz were all documented in the media and public court records for years, and that in 2023 officials in the Joe Biden administration decided not to take him in a different prisoner swap.

It noted that Spanish authorities asked the U.S. to send him to the country, but they ultimately decided against it and the Department of Justice didn't want him in the U.S.

The State Department did not confirm to the outlet whether Ortiz was taken to a U.S. prison upon arrival to the country. Images published by media outlets showed him smiling and holding a flag along with other people released as part of the agreement. One person with knowledge of the case said Ortiz is now in Orlando, Florida.

Spanish outlet El Pais noted that Ortiz was born in Venezuela and served in Iraq after getting U.S. citizenship. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Venezuela in January last year for killing three people in Madrid in 2016. He had escaped to the South American country after the crime and arrested there two years later.

The prisoner exchange took place last Friday and involved the return of 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador's maximum security prison CECOT in exchange for the 10 Americans held in Venezuela.

Diosdado Cabello, Justice Minister in Venezuela's authoritarian government, said when discussing the exchange that "we handed over some murderers for you."