Free David Estrella
David Estrella is a 64-year-old US citizen, scientist, father of five children, and grandfather of one grandchild. On September 9, 2024 , David was traveling from Colombia to Venezuela to visit friends, but he disappeared.
Five days later, the Venezuelan Interior Minister announced that David was in Venezuelan custody due to his role in a plot to kill President Maduro along with five other foreign nationals. By November, the number of “co-conspirators” had risen to 19, making it obvious that Maduro was simply arresting foreign nationals for leverage.
David has no political affiliations in North or South America. His only connection to Venezuela was a previous visit in 2022 to visit friends. The United States needs to do everything it can to bring David home now.
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David Estrella Has Been Imprisoned For
Who is David Estrella
David Estrella is a 64-year-old US citizen, a father to five children (two of whom are Boston police officers), and a grandfather to one grandchild. David is a scientist, a long-time quality control manager for major pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers, who he worked for in New Jersey and Ecuador. During the pandemic, he moved to Ecuador to work remotely and then continued to travel and work in both Ecuador and New Jersey. (In addition to US citizenship, David obtained Ecuadorian citizenship in 2011 through his ex-wife). David loves to share his passion for science and geography. He is a gregarious and social person, who loves to meet new people in all the places where he has lived and worked. David’s family describes him as a kind man who is friendly, happy, energetic, and always wants to make the most of life with the people around him. David has never been politically engaged nor served in any military.
What Happened?
David made many Ecuadorian and Venezuelan friends while visiting and living in Ecuador. They frequently would invite him to visit Venezuela with them. His first visit to Venezuela occurred without incident in 2022. A different friend invited him to visit on September 9, 2024. He flew to Cúcata, Colombia where he was going to cross the bridge into Venezuela and catch a flight to Caracas. Upon arrival, he called a friend to confirm that he had arrived in Colombia and reached the border without any issues. That is the last communication from David.
On September 14, 2024, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced that David — along with three other Americans and two Spaniards — were all in Venezuelan custody due to their role in a plot to kill President Maduro (later a Czech citizen would also be included). David’s family and friends knew this was fabricated because David never has been involved in political or military affairs. He also has no known associations with the others who were arrested.
Nothing further was heard about David until November 19, 2024, when the Interior Ministry announced that 19 individuals had been arrested in a coup plot. They stated that David was arrested crossing the border into Venezuela and was being held on charges of espionage. Although the Maduro Government announced that David is in their custody, they have not confirmed this through official channels to the US or Ecuadorian governments. David’s family has not been able to speak with him, and he has not had access to an attorney. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced Or Involuntary Disappearances has submitted a formal inquiry for information with no response.
David’s Story In The News
Venezuela’s Autocrat Detains U.S. Citizens As He Tightens Grip on Power — New York Times, January 10, 2025
Venezuelan officials say they have detained at least nine people with American citizenship or resident status, with officials accusing some of them of plotting to kill Mr. Maduro.
The United States has no diplomatic presence in Venezuela, and a State Department representative said the U.S. government was not even sure where its citizens were being held.
Relatives of three detained U.S. citizens said that they had not heard from their loved ones since they disappeared months ago and have received only limited communication from their own government.
David Estrella, 64, a father of five, had crossed into Venezuela by land from Colombia on Sept. 9, according to his former wife, Elvia Macias, 44.
Ms. Macias, who is close to her ex-husband, described him as an “adventurer” who — full of optimism that the situation in Venezuela was “not that bad” — had gone to visit friends.
He worked in quality control for pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey, was preparing to retire and had already visited Venezuela once before, she said.
Ms. Macias cried as she recounted celebrating Christmas without him.
“This situation has had a tremendous impact on our lives,” she said.
As Venezuela detains Americans, their families are left in the dark, Washington Post, January 9, 2025
Maduro said this week his government had captured 125 “mercenaries” of several nationalities, including two
Americans, since November, accusing them — without providing evidence — of attempting to carry out violence in the
Americans, since November, accusing them — without providing evidence — of attempting to carry out violence in the country. The government has not disclosed their identities or their whereabouts, and human rights organizations have not corroborated the arrests.
One of the Americans detained since the election is David Estrella, a 64-year-old from the Bronx who works for pharmaceutical companies as a quality control operator. Estrella, a dual Ecuadorian citizen, crossed the border into Venezuela on Sept. 9 to visit friends, a family spokesperson said, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of security concerns.
The next time his family heard anything about him was on Sept. 14, when Venezuela’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, announced his arrest on television. Venezuelan authorities accused Estrella and other detained Americans of a plot to kill Maduro.
Estrella’s family has had no contact with him since and has received no information about where he might be held. The U.S. and Ecuadorian governments have been unable to locate him.
Venezuela’s Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about foreign nationals detained in the country.
A State Department spokesperson said that while the U.S. government has requested information about citizens detained in Venezuela, the Maduro government has not provided any notifications about the arrests. U.S. officials are gathering more information, but their ability to assist U.S. citizens in Venezuela is “severely constrained,” the spokesperson said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of department rules.
“He has not been able to contact us in three months and we have not been able to have a lawyer meet with him,” Elvia Margarita Macias, Estrella’s former wife, said in a statement. “We believe he is being held solely because he is an American and we want the U.S. government to engage with the Venezuelan government to get him home to us.”
More Americans jailed in Venezuela pose a test of Trump's deal-making foreign policy — AP, January 8, 2025
MIAMI (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in for a third term Friday, while hundreds of government opponents arrested since his disputed reelection last summer languish in the country’s packed prisons.
Sharing cells with them are as many as 10 Americans.
One is David Estrella, who was last heard from in September, when the 62-year-old native New Yorker was about to take a taxi from Colombia to Venezuela with a bag of perfume, clothes and shoes to gift to friends he made on a previous trip.
“It’s like mourning someone in life,” said Margarita Estrella, his ex- wife and mother of three of his children, the youngest of whom just turned 18. “We don’t know anything about where he is, or how he’s doing. Without being able to talk to him, to hear his voice, so he knows all we’re trying to do for him, makes it a lot worse.”
The circumstances around the arrest of David Estrella and the other Americans are not well known. Most have not had access to a lawyer and only limited contact with family members, who worry they could be subject to torture, as past American detainees have alleged.
None has been declared wrongfully detained by the State
Department, a designation that would gives their cases more attention. Because the U.S. has diplomatic presence in Venezuela, their families can face a long process pushing for their release.
The Americans’ detentions add another complication to the many Venezuela challenges that await President-elect Donald Trump when he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Where Do Things Stand Now?
Venezuela is a country that has a history of wrongfully detaining US citizens to obtain political concessions from the US Government. Given David has no political nor military motivations and no connections to the others who have been arrested, it is very possible that Venezuelan officials noted David’s American citizenship and determined that he could be useful leverage with the US.