A former U.S. Navy SEAL was among ten Americans and U.S. permanent residents released from Venezuelan detention on Friday as part of a high-level prisoner exchange. The deal involved the swap of 252 Venezuelan migrants from the United States to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
Wilbert Joseph Castañeda, 37, a Navy veteran originally from Mexico and raised in Houston, was arrested in Venezuela in September 2024. Venezuelan officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, accused him of leading a group of foreign operatives involved in an alleged CIA-backed plot to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro.
Castañeda's family continuously denied all allegations, saying he traveled to Venezuela to visit his romantic partner. "This has all been invented. My son is a military man who went on vacation," his mother, Petra Castañeda, told The New York Times earlier this year. She described her family as "desperate" and "clinging to the hope" of a diplomatic resolution.
According to military records cited by Infobae, Castañeda joined the SEALs in 2009, rose to the rank of Petty Officer First Class, and earned three Navy and Marine Corps achievement medals during his service. He is the father of four children.
The swap marks a rare diplomatic agreement between Washington and Caracas, as The New York Times pointed out on Saturday. The Venezuelan government accused the Americans of espionage or destabilization efforts, while U.S. officials described the detentions as politically motivated.
The released Americans made a brief stop in El Salvador, where they were received by President Nayib Bukele, before flying back to the United States. The Venezuelan men, many of whom had pending asylum cases in the U.S., were returned to Venezuela after being held incommunicado in El Salvador. Families and legal advocates have raised concerns about the conditions of their detention and possible reprisals upon their return.
For the families of the released, the end of detention brought relief but not closure. "The nightmare is over," one Venezuelan mother told her son after their reunion in Caracas as The New York Times points out. Yet questions remain about the charges, the terms of the deal, and the future of diplomatic engagement between the two countries.
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