Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Venezuelan authorities have detained at least five American citizens in recent months, according to a US official familiar with the cases, deepening tensions between Washington and President Nicolás Maduro’s government amid an escalating US pressure campaign.
The detentions come as the Trump administration has intensified economic, military and intelligence operations aimed at isolating Maduro, whom US officials accuse of illegitimacy and involvement in narcotics trafficking. While the circumstances surrounding each American’s arrest vary, and some may be linked to alleged criminal activity such as drug smuggling, US officials believe the broader pattern reflects a deliberate strategy by Caracas to gain leverage over the United States.
According to the official, US agencies are still working to determine what the detained Americans were doing in Venezuela at the time of their arrests. Administration officials suspect that Maduro’s government is using the detentions as bargaining chips, a tactic increasingly familiar in geopolitical disputes involving authoritarian governments.
The approach mirrors that of Russia, one of Venezuela’s closest allies, which has detained multiple US citizens in recent years and later used them in high-profile prisoner exchanges. The New York Times first reported details of the recent American detentions in Venezuela.
Neither the US State Department nor the White House responded to requests for comment. Historically, US officials avoid publicly discussing such cases while diplomatic or backchannel efforts are underway, citing concerns for detainees’ safety.
The arrests come against the backdrop of a sharply intensified US campaign against Maduro. While Trump administration officials have stopped short of openly endorsing regime change, they have steadily increased pressure through sanctions, financial restrictions and direct action. In recent months, the US has expanded what officials describe as a blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil vessels, struck suspected drug-smuggling boats, and carried out its first known strike on a land target inside Venezuela.
In December, the CIA conducted a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility, marking a significant escalation in US actions. The same month, the State Department announced new sanctions targeting members of Maduro’s family, including three nephews and his sister-in-law, as part of a broader effort to squeeze the president’s inner circle.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the administration’s hardening stance in December, saying the “status quo with the current Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States.” His comments followed reports that Trump had privately expressed a desire to keep attacking drug-smuggling operations until Maduro capitulated.
Maduro, for his part, has sought to project calm and control. Asked this week about the port strike during an interview broadcast on state television, he suggested the issue could be discussed later while insisting that Venezuela remains secure. He said the country’s defense system, combining military, police and civilian forces, had ensured peace and territorial integrity, adding that Venezuelans were “safe and at peace.”
Human rights organizations paint a starkly different picture. Venezuela is believed to be holding hundreds of political prisoners, many detained following the disputed 2024 presidential election, in which Maduro claimed victory despite widespread allegations of fraud from independent observers and opposition groups.
On Thursday, Venezuelan rights organizations reported the release of dozens of detainees from prison. However, none of those freed were American, according to Alfredo Romero, head of the rights group Foro Penal.
Analysts say the detention of foreign nationals risks further isolating Venezuela diplomatically while increasing the danger of miscalculation between Caracas and Washington. With sanctions tightening, covert operations expanding and diplomatic channels strained, the fate of the detained Americans has become another flashpoint in a relationship already marked by hostility, mistrust and the growing use of detainees as tools of geopolitical leverage.
