Former SEAL Still Being Held in Venezuela
Was Petty Officer 1st Class Wilbert Castañeda involved in an effort to oust President Nicolás Maduro?
Apologies if you’re receiving this article for the second time. There was an error with distribution. This article is available to all, but please consider upgrading your subscription for $5/month. In addition to making my writing here sustainable, you’ll get full access to my archive and The Ice Man, a book I’ve published on Substack about a Navy SEAL platoon that took the fall for a CIA murder.
A few weeks ago, Richard Grenell, President Trump’s envoy for special missions, announced that Venezuela had released six detained Americans. “We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens,” Grenell posted on X.
Wilbert J. Castañeda, however, was not among them. The 37-year-old former Navy SEAL and active-duty sailor remains in Venezuelan custody, accused of leading a farfetched plot to assassinate the country’s autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Two American civilians arrested along with Castañeda—David Estrella and Aaron Logan—were among the six who Grene…