Last week, the U.S. State Department celebrated the release of 10 Americans and legal residents from a Venezuelan prison.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the move was part of the country’s effort to protect citizens detained abroad. However, one of those released had a troubling past that raises questions.
Among those freed was Dahud Hanid Ortiz, a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen and former U.S. Army soldier.
According to Venezuelan court documents and Spanish legal sources, Ortiz had been convicted of a brutal triple murder in Spain in 2016.
The Spanish prosecutor’s office confirmed the conviction, though the official declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the case.
Ortiz, now 54, served 19 years in the U.S. Army, where he completed multiple deployments and received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Iraq.
Military records show he later faced dismissal from the Army after pleading guilty to fraud and larceny.
In 2023, Venezuelan courts sentenced him to 30 years in prison for a violent crime committed in Madrid.
Documents show that Ortiz went to a lawyer’s office in Madrid intending to kill the man he believed was involved with his wife.
When the lawyer wasn’t there, Ortiz instead killed two women who were present, along with a man he wrongly identified as the lawyer.
The attacks were described as especially violent. One victim, Elisa Consuegra, was stabbed with a machete or large knife.
The other two victims, Maritza Osorio and the man, were likely beaten to death with an iron bar.
After the killings, Ortiz reportedly set the office on fire and fled. He traveled first to Germany, then escaped to Venezuela, where he was later arrested.