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🎠 Hostage merry-go-round
The US-El Salvador-Venezuela prisoner swap is not as hopeful as it seems. And Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Chaves is pushing against term limits.
Ignacio Portes & Lucas Berti
July 22, 2025
VENEZUELA
New opposition arrests dampen prisoner swap announcement
Venezuelan detainees are shown being sent home in a prison exchange for Americans held in Venezuela. Still from video by El Salvador’s government
A prisoner exchange announced over the weekend saw more than 250 Venezuelan migrants return to their home country, after having been detained by US authorities and held in El Salvador. In return, the Venezuelan government released 10 American citizens imprisoned in Caracas, along with a group of Venezuelan political detainees.
The Trump administration had labeled the Venezuelan migrants as members of the Tren de Aragua organization — described as a terrorist entity being used to foment unrest and violence within the US. Critics say the move to release such allegedly dangerous prisoners proves that the White House’s initial claims about them were inaccurate…
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