Venezuela detains multiple Americans as tensions escalate, US officials say

WASHINGTON, DC: Venezuelan authorities have detained at least five American citizens in recent months as tensions with the United States rise, a US official told CNN, marking a significant flashpoint in the increasingly fraught relationship between President Nicolás Maduro’s government and the Donald Trump administration.

The detentions, which come amid a broader campaign of US pressure on Venezuela, have raised concerns in Washington about the treatment of US nationals and potential diplomatic leverage being sought by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Americans held amid escalating pressure campaign

Trump administration officials believe that the Maduro regime is detaining the Americans to build leverage against the US.

The US official told CNN that as the pressure campaign against the Venezuelan leader, including the US strikes on drug boats, a CIA strike on a Venezuelan port facility, and the recent oil blockade, has intensified in recent months, the detention of Americans has increased.

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.

The Trump administration has been increasing pressure on Maduro, including the ‘blockade’ of sanctioned oil vessels and other financial tactics.

Maduro has long used detained Americans as bargaining chips

President Nicolás Maduro has a history of holding Americans, sometimes they’re actually guilty, sometimes not, and using them as leverage with Washington, his main rival.

Some of these people really do face criminal charges, but the US is also looking at labeling at least two of them as wrongfully detained, according to the New York Times.

Among those arrested are three people with both Venezuelan and American passports and two Americans who don’t seem to have any connection to Venezuela.

The United States further escalated its pressure campaign this month, targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and paralyzing the country’s biggest source of exports.

The US official says more Americans started getting detained in Venezuela last fall.

This uptick happened around the same time the US sent a naval fleet to the Caribbean and launched airstrikes on boats Washington claims are smuggling drugs for Maduro.

Maduro’s strategy echoes tactics used by Russia and other governments, which have detained US citizens abroad to gain diplomatic leverage.

In recent years, Russia has held several Americans on various charges, often amid broader geopolitical disputes.

“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.'