Recent months have seen an increase in the number of American citizens being detained in Venezuela, as highlighted in a new report.
The New York Times has reported that Venezuelan security forces have arrested several Americans amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. This comes as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign to isolate President Nicolás Maduro, including imposing sanctions and increasing the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.
A U.S. official, who preferred to remain anonymous, disclosed that while some of these detainees are facing charges that Venezuelan authorities claim are legitimate, there is consideration in Washington to label at least two of these Americans as “wrongfully detained.”
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seen holding a sword attributed to independence icon Simón Bolívar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas on November 25, 2025. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
This designation could potentially expedite diplomatic negotiations aimed at securing their release.
Those arrested are said to include three Venezuelan-American dual nationals and two U.S. citizens with no known ties to Venezuela, the official told the outlet.
Maduro’s government has long been accused by U.S. officials and critics of using detained foreign nationals as leverage in negotiations with the U.S.
President Trump has made the release of Americans held overseas a priority during both of his presidencies. During his first term, he followed a campaign of maximum pressure against Maduro.
On his return to office in January, Trump also sent envoy Richard Grenell to Caracas to push for a prisoner agreement.
Joseph St. Clair has been released by the Venezuelan government, his family said Tuesday. (Courtesy of the St. Clair family)
Grenell met Maduro in person and was tasked with securing the return of detained Americans, announcing he was bringing home six who had been imprisoned, per Reuters.
In May, Venezuela also released a U.S. Air Force veteran who had been detained for roughly six months.
Joseph St Clair, who served in Afghanistan, had traveled to South America for treatment for PTSD.
In July, as reported by Fox News Digital, 10 more Americans and U.S. permanent residents were released after a prisoner swap that saw more than 250 Venezuelans held in El Salvador also returned home. The U.S. State Department confirmed that release July 18, 2025.
“Our commitment to the American people is clear: We will safeguard the well-being of U.S. nationals both at home and abroad and not rest until all Americans being held hostage or unjustly detained around the world are brought home,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time.
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Nicolás Maduro and Marco Rubio (Fox News)
That diplomatic push led to talks between U.S. and Venezuelan officials and resulted in the release of at least 16 American citizens and permanent residents by mid-2025.
Those negotiations were later suspended as the administration shifted toward broader pressure.
The U.S. began expanding sanctions enforcement, redeploying naval assets to the Caribbean and increasing operations targeting vessels allegedly linked to drug-trafficking networks tied to Maduro’s regime.
The USS Iwo Jima sits at a dock on a cold winter morning. (Getty Images)
The New York Times reported Wednesday that among those Americans currently reported missing is James Luckey-Lange, 28, of Staten Island, New York, who went missing after crossing Venezuela’s southern border in early December.
Luckey-Lange is the son of musician Diane Luckey, known as Q Lazzarus.
Another former detainee, Renzo Huamanchumo Castillo, a Peruvian-American, told the outlet he was arrested last year and accused of terrorism and plotting to kill Maduro.
“We realized afterward, I was just a token,” he said. He was released in the July prisoner swap after months of harsh detention.
At least two others with U.S. ties remain imprisoned, according to their families: Aidel Suarez, a U.S. permanent resident born in Cuba, and Jonathan Torres Duque, a Venezuelan-American, according to reporting by The New York Times.
The exact number of newly detained Americans has not been publicly disclosed by U.S. officials.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of State for comment.
