Univision reporter Jorge Ramos was reportedly detained at the presidential palace in Caracas Monday by order of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and later released.
The network announced Ramos’s detention on Monday evening.
{mosads}Ramos, who was among a group of U.S.-based reporters conducting interviews with Maduro, was reportedly “arbitrarily detained” after he asked questions the Venezuelan president “didn’t like.”
Univision said Ramos’s team was also detained at Miraflores Palace, and their equipment was confiscated.
Kim Breier, assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs, tweeted that the State Department had received word of the detention and insisted upon their immediate release.
“.@StateDept has received word the journalist @jorgeramosnews and his team are being held against their will at Miraflores Palace by Nicolas Maduro. We insist on their immediate release; the world is watching,” Breier wrote.
Ramos and his team were released later Monday in Caracas, according to Univision journalist Daniel Coronell, who said he spoke with Ramos. Univision also confirmed their release.
Coronell added that the news crew’s equipment was confiscated, as well as the material for the interview that Maduro “didn’t like.”
Jorge Rodríguez, Maduro’s minister of communication, denied Ramos had received unfair treatment, and called Univision’s accusation “a cheap show.”
“Hundreds of reporters have passed through Miraflores and have received decent treatment that we habitually impart to those who come to fulfill journalistic work, and have published the result of that work,” tweeted Rodríguez in Spanish.
ABC News earlier Monday published an interview of Maduro conducted by Tom Llamas.
The U.S. has called for Maduro to give up his claim on the presidency in Venezuela and announced a new round of sanctions designed to pressure Maduro on Monday.
-Updated 9:47 p.m.