Venezuelan security forces have detained at least five Americans in recent months as the US has built a pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN.
The circumstances of the individual cases vary, and some could have been involved in drug smuggling, the official said. US officials are still collecting information about what the Americans were doing in Venezuela and at the time of their detention, the official added.
Trump administration officials believe that the Maduro regime is detaining the Americans to build leverage against the US, the official said, as the pressure campaign against the Venezuelan leader — including the US strikes on drug boats, a CIA strike on Venezuelan port facility and recent oil blockade — has intensified in recent months.
The tactic mirrors that of Russia, Venezuela’s longtime ally, which has detained numerous Americans on Russian soil in recent years to use as leverage in Moscow’s tense relations with the US.
The New York Times was first to report on the recently detained Americans.
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