WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple Americans who were detained in Venezuela have been released, the Trump administration said Tuesday.
“We welcome the release of detained Americans in Venezuela,” the State Department said. “This is an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities.”
The State Department did not provide the exact numbers of those released. But a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe non-public details, said four Americans were released as a group Tuesday and one was quietly released Monday.
The releases come after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid earlier this month.
The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the military operation that deposed Maduro.
As of Tuesday evening, the Venezuela human rights group Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization’s count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases or a time range in which they were carried out, nor did it identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
Though Washington and Caracas have long had a fraught and limited relationship, prisoner releases have been a rare source of connection, with the two countries in engaging in a series of swaps of detained citizens.
In July, Venezuela released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Bloomberg News first reported the releases.
Supporters of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ride through the streets calling for his release as he faces trial in the United States after being captured by U.S. forces, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
MADRID (AP) — Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz won’t attempt to defend his French Open title due to a right wrist injury.
Alcaraz posted on X on Friday that neither would he play in the preceding Italian Open in Rome, where he also won last year.
No. 2-ranked Alcaraz was injured at the Barcelona Open this month during his first-round win and withdrew the day after.
He pulled out of this week's Madrid Open and attended the Laureus World Sports Awards in the Spanish capital on Monday with his wrist immobilized. Alcaraz was named world sportsman of the year at the gala.
Alcaraz confirmed he was a no-go for Paris after undergoing more medical tests on Friday.
"After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros," he wrote on X. “It's a complicated moment for me, but I'm sure we'll come out stronger from here.”
Alcaraz started the year in sensational form, beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. That made him the youngest man ever to win all four major titles in tennis.
He has won only one title since — at Doha in February — and will be without a title in the major clay-court events. He lost the Monte Carlo final to Jannik Sinner at the start of this month and surrendered the No. 1 ranking to his Italian rival.
Last year, Alcaraz beat Sinner in the finals of the Italian Open and French Open, where he saved three match points in an epic match. Alcaraz then lost the Wimbledon final to Sinner before beating him again in the U.S. Open final.
The Italian Open starts on May 6. The French Open does so on May 18.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz towels off during the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jannik Sinner, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz caresses with the trophy after defeating Italy's Jannik Sinner in the final of the French Open tennis tournament, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reacts during the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jannik Sinner, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
Carlos Alcaraz poses with his Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award during the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
