U.S. Reportedly Orchestrates Prisoner Swap with Venezuela Using Detainees Deported To El Salvador

The United States has arranged for El Salvador to transfer Venezuelan deportees to Caracas in exchange for the release of ten individuals held by the Venezuelan government—five U.S. citizens and five permanent residents—according to two U.S. officials quoted by Reuters.

The detainees in question are those taken earlier this year to El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT facility. Neither the U.S. State Department, the White House, nor the Department of Homeland Security have commented on the reported swap.

While U.S. authorities have repeatedly maintained that they don't have jurisdiction over the deported individuals, a report from The New York Times published on July 8 revealed that high-level Trump officials had been actively negotiating to use these detainees as leverage.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Richard Grenell reportedly led separate, uncoordinated talks with Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez. One proposal involved trading the detainees for American hostages and Venezuelan political prisoners; another linked the swap to an extension of Chevron's operating license in Venezuela. Neither proposal came to fruition at the time.

Moreover, El Salvador seemed to confirm that the U.S. can decide over the fate of the detainees. A court filing presented by lawyers representing four migrant families includes a Salvadoran government response to a United Nations inquiry that states: "The jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these people lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities," referring to the United States.

The filing, presented to the United Nations, included in litigation brought by the ACLU and Democracy Forward. "El Salvador said out loud what everyone knew: The United States is in charge of the Venezuelans shipped off in the middle of the night back in March," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt.

Despite the failure of initial negotiations, the deal now underway appears to reflect the administration's continued use of the detainees for diplomatic purposes, contradicting earlier legal positions. The Venezuelan government has consistently condemned the detentions in El Salvador as violations of international law, while families and legal advocates argue many of those held have no ties to criminal activity and were not afforded due process.