Ten Americans Freed from Venezuela; Chile’s Ernesto Muñoz Addresses Tren de Aragua Sicario Release Amid Political and Procedural Criticism

Ten Americans detained in Venezuela have been released following negotiations between the United States and Venezuelan governments, with acknowledgments from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, the U.S. State Department, and President Nayib Bukele for their roles in securing the agreement. A photograph of the released detainees was made public. Meanwhile, in Chile, the recent erroneous release of a presumed hitman linked to the Tren de Aragua criminal group has sparked controversy. Ernesto Muñoz, Chile's Undersecretary of Justice, stated that the country maintains full control over its prisons and denied the existence of organized gangs controlling them. However, he acknowledged procedural shortcomings, including delayed alerts and the need for improved protocols and additional checks by prison authorities and courts. Former prosecutor José Antonio Villalobos criticized the Chilean identification system as outdated, noting difficulties in identifying the released individual despite available fingerprint data, and suggested that internal prison conditions differ from the official control claimed by authorities. Political reactions in Chile include calls for constitutional accusations against the Justice Minister by the UDI party, while the FA party cautioned against politicizing the issue. The incident has highlighted vulnerabilities in Chile's penal system and prompted calls for reforms to prevent recurrence.