Venezuela has detained several Americans as tensions with U.S. rise

President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro speaks during a march as part of the "Venezuelan Student Day" at Miraflores on November 21 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Venezuelan security forces have detained at least five Americans in recent months as the U.S. has built a pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told CNN.

The circumstances of the individual cases vary, and some could have been involved in drug smuggling, the official said. U.S. officials are still collecting information about what the Americans were doing in Venezuela and at the time of their detention, the official added.

Trump administration officials believe that the Maduro regime is detaining the Americans to build leverage against the U.S., the official said, as the pressure campaign against the Venezuelan leader — including the U.S. strikes on drug boats, a CIA strike on Venezuelan port facility and recent oil blockade — has intensified in recent months.

The tactic mirrors that of Russia, Venezuela’s longtime ally, which has detained numerous Americans on Russian soil in recent years to use as leverage in Moscow’s tense relations with the U.S.

The New York Times was first to report on the recently detained Americans.

The State Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Trump administration officials have resisted saying that they are actively seeking regime change in Venezuela but have accused Maduro of being illegitimate and a narco-trafficker. The administration has been increasing pressure on Maduro, including the “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels and other financial tactics.

In December the State Department announced two sets of sanctions against Maduro’s family members, targeting three of Maduro’s nephews, his sister-in-law and other relatives.

Also in December, the U.S. conducted its first strike on a land target in Venezuela, hitting a port facility in a CIA drone strike, CNN reported.

“It is clear that the current status quo with the current Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a December press conference when asked about comments from the White House chief of staff that Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.”

Venezuela holds hundreds of people as political prisoners, according to human rights activists, some of whom were detained in the aftermath of a 2024 election in which Maduro claimed victory but that independent observers said was undemocratic.

Dozens of people were released from a Venezuelan prison on Thursday, Venezuelan rights groups said.

None of them are American, according to Alfredo Romero, the head of rights group Foro Penal.