A Naval Special Warfare sailor assigned to a West Coast-based SEAL unit who was recently released by Venezuela after being detained for nearly a year is going through a reintegration process designed to support service members who have been in isolation, a Navy spokesperson said.
Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Wilbert Castañeda was not a Navy SEAL when he was arrested in Venezuela because his Navy Enlisted Classification had been revoked before then, said a U.S. official, who had no information about why Castañeda is no longer a SEAL.
Castañeda was arrested in Caracas, Venezuela, last August, and he was initially accused of being part of a CIA-led operation to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime claims which the State Department described as “categorically false.”
Castañeda, 37, was one of 10 Americans released on July 18 as part of an exchange that involved returning more than 250 Venezuelans who had been deported from the United States to El Salvador to their country, according to the Washington Post.
An investigation is looking into the circumstances of how Castañeda was detained, a Navy spokesperson told Task & Purpose on Monday.
His older brother Christian told the New York Times that the sailor had gone to Venezuela to meet a romantic partner.
“My brother has served honorably in the U.S. Navy for over 18 years and, because of his role as a breacher and dealing with regular exposure to explosions, he has suffered several traumatic brain injuries,” Christian Castañeda said in a July 18 news release from Global Reach, a non-profit organization that advocates for bringing home Americans who are wrongly detained in foreign countries.
“His medical condition worsened from those workplace hazards, which we believe impaired his judgment and risk mitigation,” Christian Castañeda continued. “His condition led him to make a bad decision to travel to Venezuela.”
Christian Castañeda is currently supporting his brother who is being evaluated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for the traumatic brain injuries that he received while serving as a Navy SEAL, and for the physical and psychological trauma he endured while in captivity said Eric Lebson, a family spokesperson working with Global Reach.
Castañeda enlisted in the Navy in April 2007, and he took part in Navy Special Warfare Training at Coronado, California from July 2007 to August 2008, according to his service record, which was provided to Task & Purpose. Between 2009 and 2022, he served with both East and West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare units.
His awards include three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, four Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, two Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medals, the Armed Forces Service Medal, and four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.
“We are just glad that he is out and able to receive the treatment and help he deserves, and will be able to celebrate his upcoming 38th birthday with his family in freedom,” Christian Castañeda said in the Global Reach news release.
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This is the most recent prisoner exchange with Venezuela. In a December 2023 swap, Venezuela released 10 Americans and returned former defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis — better known by his nickname “Fat Leonard” — to the United States. Francis went on the lam in 2022 before he could be sentenced on bribery and corruption charges to which he had pleaded guilty.
Prior to the most recent exchange, more Americans were wrongly held in Venezuela than in any other country in the world, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a July 18 statement.
“It is unacceptable that Venezuelan regime representatives arrested and jailed U.S. nationals under highly questionable circumstances and without proper due process,” Rubio said. “Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.”
