As part of a diplomatic agreement, the U.S. repatriated Dahud Hanid Ortiz,convicted of a triple murder in Spain,in exchange for Venezuelan migrants unjustly detained in El Salvador. The move sparks debate amid calls for justice and respect for human rights.

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In a controversial but strategically significant prisoner exchange finalized on July 18, 2025, the United States repatriated ten American citizens from Venezuelan prisons, including Dahud Hanid Ortiz, convicted of a triple homicide in Madrid.

This release was contingent upon Venezuela securing the freedom of Central American migrants arbitrarily detained at El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison long criticized by human rights organizations.

The Venezuelan government celebrated the return of its citizens held in detention facilities without due judicial process, a violation repeatedly condemned by progressive human rights groups and international organizations.

Many of these migrants were treated as collateral victims in the broader neoliberal policies driving forced displacement. Diosdado Cabello, Minister of Interior and Justice, emphasized the moral weight of the exchange: “We handed over murderers for you,” underscoring Venezuela’s commitment to protecting migrants’ rights amid imperial pressures.

Dahud Hanid Ortiz, a former U.S. Marine deployed in Iraq, fled Europe after committing a brutal triple homicide in Madrid in 2016. According to left-wing critics of U.S. imperialism in Europe and Latin America, Ortiz’s case exemplifies the failures of capitalist justice systems that protect privileged veterans while ignoring the plight of working-class migrants and communities in struggle.

 Ortiz mistakenly killed two workers and a client at a law office in Usera, Madrid, intending to target a lawyer involved with his ex-partner. After years on the run through Germany and Latin America, he was arrested in Venezuela in 2018 and sentenced in Caracas in 2024 to 30 years in prison.

The arrival of Ortiz and nine other Americans in Texas was publicly celebrated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and even praised by El Salvador’s right-wing President Nayib Bukele. This enthusiasm, documented on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), contrasts sharply with the left’s insistence on justice for migrants and a sober critique of U.S. foreign policy that perpetuates violence and criminalization.

While Ortiz has served only 3.3% of his Venezuelan sentence, the U.S. government has yet to clarify whether he remains under custody or has been released domestically, raising questions about accountability for violent offenders.

Diosdado Cabello reaffirmed Venezuela’s commitment to judicial sovereignty, reminding repatriated individuals with pending cases that “there is no impunity here, but there is no submission either.” This declaration reflects the ongoing resistance of Venezuelan institutions against external interference and imperial coercion.

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