U.S. pressure raises uncertainty for foreigners jailed in Venezuela
As U.S. naval forces and anti-narcotics operations increase in the southern Caribbean, foreign nationals detained in Venezuela — including humanitarian workers, tourists and businesspeople — face heightened uncertainty about their fate. Human Rights Watch says 89 foreign nationals from multiple countries are imprisoned, NPR profiles detained Colombian humanitarian Manuel Alejandro Tique and his family, and the story links recent U.S.-Venezuela tensions (including prior prisoner swaps and strikes) to an environment in which Caracas may use detainees as leverage.
International
National security
Human Rights
📌 Key Facts
- Human Rights Watch reports 89 foreign nationals are currently imprisoned in Venezuelan jails.
- NPR identifies Manuel Alejandro Tique, a 32-year-old humanitarian worker from Colombia detained in a Venezuelan maximum-security prison.
- Earlier in the year Venezuela freed 10 Americans in exchange for more than 200 Venezuelan migrants; NPR notes U.S. naval buildups and anti-narcotics strikes in the southern Caribbean are intensifying diplomatic uncertainty.