U.S. Hostages and Detainees

Former U.S. Marine Matthew Heath alleges he was tortured in Venezuelan custody—handcuffed to a metal bedframe and electrocuted with a car battery and jumper cables—and says Nicolás Maduro’s government used Americans as “trading chips,” a claim underscored by his October 2022 release in a prisoner swap that exchanged him and six other U.S. detainees for two nephews of Maduro’s wife convicted in U.S. drug cases. A hostage‑advocacy group says at least four Americans remain detained in Venezuela, reportedly facing “terrible treatment” and lacking clean water and medical care, and Heath is urging President Trump to call Delcy Rodríguez and send a plane to bring them home.