What was meant to be a strategic deal to bring Americans home from Venezuelan prisons was derailed by competing diplomatic efforts within the Trump administration, according to The New York Times. The two separate sets of negotiations with Venezuela reportedly led to confusion and no deal being made, according to the report.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been working on a prisoner exchange that would have freed 11 Americans and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners in return for sending back about 250 Venezuelan migrants currently held in El Salvador after being deported from the U.S.
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Concurrently, the Times reports that President Donald Trump’s envoy to Venezuela, Richard Grenell, was pursuing a separate deal. His offer was reportedly to allow Chevron to continue operating in Venezuela’s oil sector in exchange for the release of American prisoners. The two diplomatic efforts were apparently not coordinated — and both were being negotiated with the same Venezuelan official, Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela.
The confusion over who truly represented Trump reportedly left Venezuelan officials unsure which offer to engage, according to the Times. In the end, neither deal was finalized. Plans to carry out the swap — including flights prepared for both directions — were canceled.
What happened?
Grenell had reportedly informed President Trump about his proposal and believed he had the president’s backing, though officials say he never received formal approval. At the same time, a group of Florida Republicans had reportedly warned the administration not to ease oil sanctions against Venezuela.
After Venezuela agreed to election reforms in the country in 2022, then-President Joe Biden agreed to ease sanctions on oil and gas, a move that then-Sen. Marco Rubio lamented. President Trump ended Biden’s concessions and canceled a license that allowed Chevron to export Venezuelan crude, which financially benefits Venezuela, in March.
Trump admin responds
In response to the Times’ accusation that two top diplomats were at odds over a Venezuelan prisoner swap which led to a deal falling apart, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, “There is no fraction or division. The president has one team, and everyone knows he is the ultimate decision maker.”
Rubio and Grenell have not provided a media response to the Times’ reporting.
While one of Grenell’s efforts did result in the release of a U.S. Air Force veteran from Venezuela, the larger prisoner swap backed by the State Department collapsed. And with no final agreement in place, both American and Venezuelan detainees remain imprisoned.
