Peruvian national Renzo Huamanchumo Castillo, detained in Venezuela as September 22, 2024, has been released and is en route to teh United States, where he resides. The Peruvian Chancellery confirmed his release, stating he is currently in El Salvador.
Huamanchumo Castillo was initially arrested by Venezuelan authorities, who accused him of conspiring against the Nicolรกs Maduro regime and participating in an international plot to assassinate the president. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello presented a photograph of Huamanchumo Castillo as evidence. However, Huamanchumo Castillo’s mother, Roxana Castillo, refuted these claims, explaining that images of her son in military attire and with weapons were from his security training in the U.S.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru reported that Huamanchumo Castillo is in good health and has been able to communicate with his mother, who is preparing to reunite with him in texas. His release is understood to be part of a detainee exchange between the governments of El Salvador and Venezuela. the Peruvian Embassy in Washington D.C. has been in contact with Huamanchumo Castillo.
The Chancellery indicated that it had been actively involved in the case, undertaking “intense efforts” with the U.S. State Department, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for human Rights, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the General Secretariat of the Institution of American states to secure his release.