Donald Trump sent former diplomat Richard Grenell, who served as the Acting Director of National Intelligence for a stint under the president’s first term, down to Venezuela to—as our Ward Clark put it—“explain to [strongman/dictator Nicolás] Maduro what the new rules are.”
It didn’t take long for Grenell to bring home results—in fact, after meeting with Maduro, Ric returned to the United States with six freed hostages:
We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens.
They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him. pic.twitter.com/sCvCO4HQQv
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 1, 2025
The president took to social media to congratulate Grenell, who he named Presidential Envoy for Special Missions in December:
Just been informed that we are bringing six hostages home from Venezuela. Thank you to…
