(Related video) Maduro spoke after the meeting between the US and Venezuela 1:52
(CNN) --
Three Americans were detained in Venezuela earlier this year, including Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles-based attorney, a Venezuelan legal source told CNN.
Hernández, 44, was detained in Táchira state, the source said.
The other two Americans were arrested in Venezuela around the same time, according to the source.
A spokesman for the US State Department confirmed the detention of US citizens in that country, noting that the arrests occurred in January and March of this year.
"We take our commitment to help US citizens abroad very seriously. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment," the spokesman responded Tuesday.
The department did not confirm how many Americans were detained.
Right now, there are about a half-dozen Americans the State Department believes are wrongfully detained in Venezuela.
Last month, US Marine Corps veteran Matthew Heath, arrested nearly two years ago, attempted suicide.
Two high-ranking State Department officials also traveled to Venezuela to meet with Americans detained there and with officials from the Maduro regime.
In addition to Heath, five of the six US oil executives collectively known as the "Citgo 6" –– Tomeu Vadell, Jorge Toledo, Alirio José Zambrano, José Luis Zambrano and José Ángel Pereira–– remain in Venezuela.
They are believed to be unjustly detained after being arrested more than four years ago.
Two other Americans, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, also remain deprived of their liberty in the country, as well as Hernández and the two unidentified citizens.
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Families of Americans detained abroad call for urgent action from Biden to free their loved ones
Diplomatic efforts continue and last month the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), Roger Carstens, and Ambassador James Story, who heads the US Venezuela Affairs Unit ., traveled to that country in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the release of the detained Americans.
"The visit of US officials to Venezuela was focused on securing the release of unjustly detained Americans," a State Department spokesman said at the time.
"Both SPEHA Carstens and Ambassador Story pressured regime officials to immediately release all unfair detainees," he added.
CNN reported that Carstens met with the wrongfully detained Americans during his visit to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
Carstens also discussed "with senior officials of the Maduro regime the importance of ensuring they receive proper care when needed," a State Department spokesperson previously told CNN.
Before the news that more Americans are being detained broke, several family members of other citizens held in Venezuela called on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to fire Story, saying he is not doing enough to secure the release of your loved ones.
"Our family expresses their 'mistrust' in Ambassador Story and calls on President Biden and Secretary Blinken to immediately remove him from office, and replace him with a new ambassador who shares President Biden's values," wrote Everett Rutherford, uncle of Heath, in a press release that was released on Monday.
American detained in Venezuela writes to Biden asking him to do what is necessary to secure his release
Alexandra Forseth, daughter of Alirio José Zambrano and niece of José Luis Zambarno, who are part of the Citgo 6, also expressed her lack of trust in Story in the press release.
"My father and uncle are in a life and death struggle, and every day counts. I don't trust Ambassador Story because he is not treating the cases of Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela as a top priority," Forseth said.
Story is a career foreign service official who was appointed and confirmed as President Donald Trump's ambassador in 2020. He is based in Bogotá, Colombia, because the United States withdrew diplomatic personnel from Venezuela in 2019.
Story did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the news release.
A State Department spokesman would not comment on the specific allegations.
"We are grateful for the collaboration, feedback and advocacy for families who have loved ones wrongfully detained abroad," the spokesperson said.
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