KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In September 2020, an East Tennessee Marines veteran was detained in Venezuela. The government accused him of acting as a terrorist and spying for former President Donald Trump after arresting him at a roadblock. They said he had been transporting a grenade launcher and a bag of money.
It has been more than 500 days since then, and Matthew Heath is still in Venezuela, according to the U.S. Department of State. They said his trial in the country is still ongoing, and the department said they are still pushing for his unconditional return to the U.S. and to his family.
They issued a statement on Friday, saying Secretary Antonin Blinken was "relentlessly pursuing" Heath's release. The statement can be read in full below:
Today marks 500 days since the Maduro regime wrongfully detained U.S. citizen and Marine veteran Matthew Heath. Matthew was arrested in September 2020 on specious charges, and his trial is still ongoing. We continue to seek his unconditional return and the release of all U.S. nationals wrongfully detained overseas, and Secretary Blinken is relentlessly pursuing Matthew’s release. To the Maduro regime officials who have imprisoned him, we call for him to be allowed to return to the United States so that he can reunite with his family.
In November 2021, Heath's family said they heard he had been in court every Tuesday for five weeks straight. At that point in the trial, a witness had discredited a previous witness.
The original witness said Heath bribed him so he could enter Venezuela, but is now saying he was tortured into making the claim and said he lied in previous hearings.
But Heath's aunt, Trudy Rutherford, also said that a man tried to discredit the claim that the witness was tortured. She also said that she spoke to Heath over the phone in November.
During that conversation, Rutherford said he was maintaining his innocence throughout the whole trial. He has not signed a confession on the Venezuelan government's claims. She also said that she gets calls from him every week.
His family previously said Heath was in Columbia to visit his girlfriend and get more boating experience. They said he expected to return home just days before he was arrested.
