A Univision team led by Jorge Ramos, a Mexican-born American journalist, was released after a brief detention by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to media reports.
Univision president Daniel Coronell confirmed Monday evening that he was speaking with Ramos and that the team had been released shortly after Univision News first reported Monday that the team was detained during an interview with Maduro.
Confirmado: Estoy hablando con @jorgeramosnews. Él y los otros miembros del equipo fueron liberados. Los equipos y el material de la entrevista que no le gustó a @NicolasMaduro fueron confiscados.
— Daniel Coronell (@DCoronell) February 26, 2019
According to Univision, Maduro detained Ramos and five crewmates because he “didn’t like the questions” he was being asked during the interview. Their technical equipment was also confiscated.
Happy to report @jorgeramosnews and the @Univison team have been released. Here he is on his phone in his hotel after he was released this evening. pic.twitter.com/Pl2P1B5SHs
— Univision News (@UnivisionNews) February 26, 2019
The detentions elicited a swift rebuke from the State Department.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier said after Univision’s announcement that the State Department was aware the Univision team was being “held against their will” by Maduro, and urged the Maduro regime to release them.
“We insist on their immediate release; the world is watching,” Breier tweeted.
Venezuela is in the middle of a political and economic crisis, in which the U.S. and other countries have demanded Maduro’s ouster and recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president. Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to Bogota, Colombia, on Monday to meet with Guaido, said “all options” were under consideration for removing Maduro from power, including military force.
“President Trump has made it clear that while we hope for a peaceful transition, we hope that diplomatic and economic pressure and the voice of nations around the world will result in a peaceful transition. All options are on the table,” Pence told Fox Business Network host Trish Regan on Monday.
Coupled with the U.S. pressure campaign to convince military officials in Venezuela to defect, as Maduro is blocking food and aid from entering the country, Pence unveiled that the U.S. was upping its financial sanctions by targeting four Venezuelan governors. He also called on other nations to impose sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA as the Trump administration has already done.
[Related: Venezuela standoff turns deadly as troops block aid delivery]
