How Marco Rubio Botched a Deal to Free American Prisoners

Due to conflicting efforts by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Richard Grenell, the Trump administration bungled a deal that would have freed 11 U.S. citizens and green card holders detained in Venezuela, along with a number of Venezuelan political prisoners, according to a new report from The New York Times.

The two diplomats brought contradictory deals to the same Venezuelan officials.

Under Rubio’s deal, in exchange for Venezuela freeing the Americans, green card holders, and Venezuelan political prisoners, the U.S. would have facilitated the repatriation of 250 Venezuelan immigrants it deported to El Salvador. (While the Trump administration has previously claimed no control over the Venezuelan detainees, the Timesreports that, here, “it was willing to use them as bargaining chips.”)

Rubio’s plan progressed to a point where the U.S. and Venezuela had arranged to send planes to retrieve their respective prisoners. But Grenell, Donald Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela, had a different idea.

Not believing Trump would sanction a swap in which “accused gang members” would be released, the special envoy reportedly pursued a deal extending Chevron’s oil license in Venezuela in exchange for American prisoners. Grenell’s terms were “more attractive” in Venezuela’s eyes, as the government relies on oil revenue.

Grenell reportedly rang Trump, and left the call believing he had the president’s blessing. But a U.S. official told the Times that wasn’t the case. The special envoy’s plan would have offended a group of Florida Republicans who’d threatened not to support Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” if he were to walk back oil sanctions against Venezuela.

Both conflicting deals involved speaking with Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, according to the Times, and “the lack of coordination left Venezuelan officials unclear about who spoke for” the president.

“You would think they would be duly coordinated,” the mother of a Navy SEAL detained in Venezuela told the Times, which reports that the White House is still open to conducting a swap, but not to extending Chevron’s license.