STORY: Ten U.S. citizens who were detained in Venezuela landed on in El Salvador Friday (July 18) as part of a coordinated prisoner exchange with the South American nation.

The released Americans were welcomed by the U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler and El Salvador president Nayib Bukele at the presidential house in San Salvador.

In a post on X, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Bukele for his help in securing the agreement.

In exchange, Venezuela's government said 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador were freed. President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the arrival of two airplanes carrying them near Caracas on Friday evening.

The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the United States in March after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without going through normal immigration procedures. They were held in El Salvador's notorious CECOT maximum security prison.

Senior U.S. officials also said 80 domestic political prisoners in Venezuela would be freed, although the Venezuelan government referred only to "alternative" detention measures in its statement.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: COMALAPA, EL SALVADOR (JULY 18, 2025) (EL SALVADOR PRESIDENCY HANDOUT – Access all)

1. PLANE ON RUNWAY

2. U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE RESPONSE ADAM BOEHLER WALKING TO PLANE

3. VARIOUS OF RELEASED DETAINEES DISEMBARKING PLANE AND GREETING BOEHLER

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR (JULY 18, 2025) (EL SALVADOR PRESIDENCY HANDOUT – Access all)

4. VARIOUS OF RELEASED DETAINEES SIGNING AMERICAN FLAG

5. VARIOUS OF RELEASED DETAINEES SHAKING HANDS WITH SALVADORAN PRESIDENT, NAYIB BUKELE

6. BOEHLER SPEAKING

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE RESPONSE ADAM BOEHLER, SAYING (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER AND ENDS ON WIDE SHOTS OF BOEHLER SPEAKING):

“And president Bukele, what you’ve done here, with our president (Donald) Trump, with our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is bring home ten of our Americans, and there’s nothing important in the world to us. And so thank you, thank you for being an unbelievable friend to our country.”

8. RELEASED DETAINEES APPLAUDING

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EL SALVADOR PRESIDENT, NAYIB BUKELE, SAYING (SOUNDBITE RUNS OVER VARIOUS WIDE SHOTS OF BUKELE SPEAKING):

“And we’ve been in these negotiations trying to set you, all of you free, but also, 80 political prisoners from Venezuela. So over there, we secure the release of 80 political prisoners and all American citizens that were also held prisoner.”

10. ATTENDEES APPLAUDING

11. BUKELE, BOEHLER, RELEASED AMERICAN DETAINEES POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH WITH U.S. FLAG

12. RELEASED DETAINEE HANDING U.S. FLAG TO BUKELE

INTERNET (JULY 18, 2025) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE – Access all)

13. SCREENSHOT OF POST ON X FROM U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO, READING (English): “Thanks to @POTUS’s (U.S. President Donal Trump's) leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom. I want to thank my team at the @StateDept & especially President @nayibbukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners.”

14. SCREENSHOT OF POST ON X FROM BUKELE, READING (English): “Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TDA). Many of them face multiple charges of murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes. As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages. These individuals are now en route to El Salvador, where they will make a brief stop before continuing their journey home. This operation is the result of months of negotiations with a tyrannical regime that had long refused to release one of its most valuable bargaining chips: its hostages. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of many officials from both the United States and El Salvador, and above all, thanks to Almighty God, it was achieved. In this, as in other matters, I remind you: patience and trust.”