(CARACAS, Venezuela) — A U.S. journalist was seized by security forces at his apartment Wednesday amid Venezuela’s escalating political turmoil, then was freed several hours later and deported, executives at his Miami-based TV station and union representatives said.
Cody Weddle was taken to the airport outside Caracas for a flight back to the United States, said ABC affiliate Local 10 News, a station he sent dispatches as a freelance correspondent. Venezuela’s National Union of Press Workers said on Twitter that he had been deported.
It wasn’t clear why he was detained. Government officials did not comment on the case.
Early Wednesday, a squad of five men dressed in black uniforms and carrying a written order demanded entry into Weddle’s Caracas apartment building, neighbors said. The officers emerged two hours later with the Virginia-born Weddle carrying a large suitcase and equipment bag.
“He didn’t say anything,” said the building’s doorman, Juan Jose Araque. “He went quietly.”
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