The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela announces with satisfaction that it has achieved the release of the 252 Venezuelan citizens who were kidnapped and subjected to enforced disappearance in a concentration camp known as CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center) in the Republic of El Salvador.
The official communiqué was released this Friday, July 18, by the Venezuelan Chancellor Yvan Gil through his account on the Telegram social network. The published text explains that Venezuela paid a high price to secure the freedom of these Venezuelans, who had been transferred to the Salvadoran penitentiary center internationally known for its extreme conditions of confinement.
This release was achieved through a prisoner exchange with the United States, which involved the surrender of US citizens prosecuted for serious crimes against national security.
Following, the Communiqué:
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela announces with satisfaction that it has achieved the release of 252 Venezuelan citizens who were kidnapped and subjected to enforced disappearance in a concentration camp known as the CECOT in the Republic of El Salvador.
Venezuela has paid a high price to achieve the freedom of these nationals, through an exchange with the authorities of the United States of America of a group of American citizens who were in the hands of justice for their proven involvement in serious crimes against the peace, independence, and security of the nation.
The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, always willing to protect the lives and safety of these Venezuelans subjected to gross human rights violations, had no hesitation in making this exchange and thus rescuing these Venezuelan migrants kidnapped in El Salvador on account of the most extremist sectors of the Venezuelan right wing.
Likewise, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela informs that the competent bodies of the Justice System have granted alternative measures to imprisonment to a group of Venezuelan citizens who were detained within the framework of a criminal proceeding against them for their participation in the commission of common crimes and crimes against the constitutional order, as provided for and sanctioned in the national legal system.
The Bolivarian Government once again thanks former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for his courageous efforts in the interest of political dialogue, peace, and reconciliation in Venezuela.
Finally, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms that it will continue working tirelessly on other issues for the benefit of the Venezuelan people, with absolute respect for the Constitution”.
Caracas, July 18, 2025