WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday determined that there are nine wrongfully detained Americans in Venezuela, a State Department spokesperson said on Friday, calling for their immediate release.
“It is unacceptable that the regime has arrested and jailed Americans under questionable circumstances and without respect for their rights,” the spokesperson said.
“All Americans unjustly detained by the Maduro regime must be released immediately. The United States continues our efforts to secure the release of any remaining Americans unjustly detained by the regime in Venezuela.”
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the government has previously accused some detained Americans of involvement in terrorist plots.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro regularly accuses the opposition and foreigners of conspiring with the U.S. to harm Venezuela, accusations the opposition and the U.S. have always denied.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jonathan Landay in Washington and Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota)
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