U.S. Botched a Deal to Swap Venezuelans Held in El Salvador for Americans
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. envoy to Venezuela were both working on different deals and ended up at cross purposes.

Inmates at the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in March. Fred Ramos for The New York Times
By Frances RoblesJulie Turkewitz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Frances Robles reported from Florida, Julie Turkewitz from Bogotá, Colombia, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs from Washington.
July 8, 2025
Leer en español
The Trump administrations top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was overseeing a deal to free several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported to El Salvador.
But the deal never happened.
Part of the reason: President Trumps envoy to Venezuela was working on his own deal, one with terms that Venezuela deemed more attractive. In exchange for American prisoners, he was offering to allow Chevron to continue its oil operations in Venezuela, a vital source of revenue for its authoritarian government.
The discussions, which included the release of about 80 Venezuelan political prisoners, and the two different deals were described by two U.S. officials and two other people who are familiar with the talks and sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
The State Department never sealed the deal. The top U.S. officials did not appear to be communicating with each other and ended up at cross purposes. The approximately 250 people expelled from the United States are still being held in a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. And it became clear that while Mr. Trumps White House once said that it had no control over the detainees in El Salvador, it was willing to use them as bargaining chips.
{snip}
Annie Correal contributed reporting.
Frances Robles is a Times reporter covering Latin America and the Caribbean. She has reported on the region for more than 25 years.
Julie Turkewitz is the Andes Bureau Chief for The Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia, covering Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.