Venezuela Uses Foreign Hostages as Bargaining Chip With Other Countries: Amnesty

Amnesty International has documented the Maduro government’s deprivation of liberty through arbitrary detentions following the 2024 election.

A member of the Committee of Relatives of Political Prisoners participates in a protest in Caracas on January 28, 2025. PEDRO MATTEY/AFP via Getty Images

Venezuelan authorities are detaining foreign citizens to use as a bargaining chip, according to Amnesty International’s most recent report.

“Out of the 15 cases of people forcibly disappeared that Amnesty International has documented since July 2024, 11 remain subjected to enforced disappearance, including Venezuelans and citizens of the United States, France, Spain, Ukraine, Colombia and Uruguay.” the July 15 report states.