Overview

• Diplomatic negotiations led by former Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero culminated on July 18–19 in a prisoner swap that repatriated 252 Venezuelans and freed ten U.S. citizens in Caracas.
• The migrants had been deported under President Trump’s 1798 Foreign Enemies Act in March, accused without trial or public evidence of affiliation with the Tren de Aragua criminal organization.
• Repatriated individuals report physical beatings at “breakfast, lunch and dinner,” prolonged isolation and denial of legal access in El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
• The exchange follows a U.S. commitment of $6 million annually to house deportees at CECOT and reflects close coordination among the United States, Venezuela and El Salvador.
• Caracas and Washington are now considering further steps to address the detention of Venezuelan dissidents remaining in Venezuelan custody.