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Richard Grenell met Nicolas Maduro in Caracas

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Migration, sanctions, prisoners discussed

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Grenell says he is leaving with six American citizens

(Recasts with Grenell's return with six Americans)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Julia Symmes Cobb

WASHINGTON/BOGOTA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President

Donald Trump's envoy Richard Grenell said on Friday he was

headed back to the United States with six American citizens, a

surprise development after he met with Venezuelan President

Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

Officials from the Trump administration had said earlier on

Friday that one of Grenell's top aims for the visit was to

secure the release of Americans detained in the country, at a

time when the Trump administration has been driving a

deportation and anti-gang push in the United States.

Grenell did not name the six men, shown with him aboard

an airplane in a photo he posted online. They were dressed in

light blue outfits used by the Venezuelan prison system.

"We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American

citizens," Grenell posted on X. "They just spoke to

@realDonaldTrump and they couldn't stop thanking him."

Trump cheered the move in his own post, saying Grenell was

bringing "six hostages home from Venezuela."

It is unclear exactly how many Americans were being held by

Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have spoken publicly about

at least nine.

Maduro's officials have accused most of them of terrorism

and said some were high-level "mercenaries". The Venezuelan

government regularly accuses members of the opposition and

foreign detainees of conspiring with the U.S. to commit

terrorism. U.S. officials have always denied any plots.

"American hostages that are being held in Venezuela ... must

be released immediately," Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S.

special envoy for Latin America, said earlier on Friday, adding

the Grenell-Maduro meeting was "not a negotiation in exchange

for anything."

In late 2023, Venezuela's government released dozens of

prisoners, including 10 Americans, after months of negotiations,

while the U.S. released a close ally of Maduro.

Maduro and Grenell had a respectful discussion at the

presidential palace about migration, sanctions and Americans

detained in the South American country, the Venezuelan

government said in a statement earlier on Friday.

The two countries have a fraught recent history marked by

broken relations, sanctions and accusations of coup-plotting.

But they share interest in several pending bilateral issues,

including a license allowing U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX ) to

operate in Venezuela.

"The meeting took place with mutual respect and diverse

issues of interest to both countries were discussed," the

statement said, adding that one topic of discussion was

"American citizens involved in crime within (Venezuelan)

territory" and that Grenell and Maduro agreed relations must

turn a new page.

Grenell's visit does not mean the United States

recognizes Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, White House

press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier on Friday.

She said Grenell was also focused on ensuring 400 members of

the Tren de Aragua gang in U.S. custody are returned to

Venezuela.

An agreement on Tren de Aragua deportations was

"non-negotiable," Claver-Carone said.

Venezuelan attorney general Tarek Saab said last week

that the gang had been dismantled in Venezuela in 2023, but that

it was willing to restart legal cooperation with the U.S. in

order to extradite gang members.

SANCTIONS, ELECTIONS AND MIGRANTS

The administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden

reinstated broad oil sanctions after it said Maduro failed to

keep promises for a free presidential election and later

increased rewards for the capture or conviction of leaders

including Maduro, leaving Trump limited options for further

penalties.

Maduro's government-backed victory in the July 2024 vote

is contested by the opposition, international observers and

numerous countries, including the United States.

Maduro's government has always rejected sanctions by the

United States and others, saying they are illegitimate measures

which amount to an "economic war" designed to cripple Venezuela.

The Financial Times reported on Friday that Chevron ( CVX ) is

trying to protect a special U.S. license allowing it to operate

in Venezuela.

Chevron ( CVX ) chief executive Mike Wirth told the newspaper the

company would engage with the White House, after Secretary of

State Marco Rubio said the license should be reconsidered and

Trump said the U.S. would likely stop buying oil from

Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Trump has kicked off a sweeping immigration

crackdown, pledging mass deportations.

Some 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States were eligible

for deportation reprieves granted by the Biden administration,

but U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would

cut the duration of the protections. She must decide by Saturday

whether to terminate them.