ANALYSIS | Do the negotiations for the detained Americans slow down the fight for democracy in Venezuela?

Is Venezuela benefiting from the rise in oil prices?

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(CNN) --

A growing number of American citizens are being detained in Venezuela, and while exactly how many are unknown, the arrests could give authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro an edge in frosty relations with Washington.

Since 2019, the United States and dozens of countries around the world have said they do not consider Maduro's presidency legitimate, instead recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim head of state.

However, the White House of current US President Joe Biden has sent high-ranking officials to Caracas three times this year to meet with Maduro and his representatives in an effort to negotiate for the detained Americans.

Although the Biden administration has not rolled out the red carpet — it refused to invite Maduro to this year's Summit of the Americas and maintained personal sanctions on Venezuelan government officials — the fact that high-ranking officials meet with Maduro directly to talk about the detainees suggests that the White House has abandoned the Trump-era tactic of vacuuming out the authoritarian leader.

The effort appears separate from parallel talks seeking to boost Venezuela's oil production under pressure from rising global gas prices and Washington-spurred behind-the-scenes political negotiations between Maduro and the Guaidó-led opposition, which so far they are a slow moving process.

concessions on principles

Under pressure at home, the Biden administration has already shown that it is willing to compromise on principle in order to take practical steps to win the freedom of American citizens abroad.

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As CNN previously reported, the White House has already offered to trade WNBA player Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan -- both detained in Russia -- for Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer.

This proposal overrides opposition from the Justice Department, which is generally against prisoner swaps.

• Lawyers for Brittney Griner appeal verdict that sentenced her to 9 years in prison in Russia

The exact number of Americans detained in Venezuela is unclear, and the State Department does not typically comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.

But among those publicly known to be in detention are five of the six so-called "Citgo 6," Citgo oil refinery executives arrested on corruption charges they deny;

two former Special Forces members, Aidan Berry and Luke Denman, arrested in alleged connection to a failed private attempt to force Maduro from power;

and Matthew Heath, a former Marine accused of planning an attack on a Venezuelan oil refinery.

A member of the "Citgo 6" is released in Venezuela 2:15

Unofficially, State Department sources estimate that the actual number of Americans detained in Venezuela may be 17.

The State Department believes they are all unjustly detained, and lawyers and family members of the Citgo 6 have often accused Maduro of using the group as "pawns" to put pressure on the US government.

Last month, CNN learned that at least three other US citizens have been detained in Venezuela this year, including a public defender from Los Angeles.

In Venezuela, the United States government's efforts to negotiate on behalf of its detainees are led by envoy Roger Carstens, who has met with Maduro in person during his many trips to Caracas.

CNN has contacted Carstens' office for comment.

In March, he visited Caracas with Ambassador James Story, who heads the US Venezuelan Affairs Unit, and the senior director of the regional National Security Council, Juan Gonzalez.

That high-profile visit was the first since diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in 2019.

Shortly afterward, Venezuela released Gustavo Cárdenas, a former Citgo executive, and Jorge Alberto Fernández, a dual Cuban-American citizen.

Since then there have been two other trips to Venezuela.

"You can't say that [the White House] isn't pushing: We've had three trips by high-ranking officials so far," said a source involved in the negotiations to release US citizens.

"It's not like this has happened before," he said, highlighting Maduro's unprecedented level of direct communication with Washington.

Some families of detained US citizens have urged Biden to offer the same kind of trade his administration did for Griner — citing high-level Venezuelan officials detained in the United States such as Colombian businessman Alex Saab, whom the Justice Department described himself as a figurehead for Maduro—in exchange for the release of his loved ones.

However, a State Department source told CNN that a similar deal is not on the cards at the moment.

What Maduro wants

What Maduro wants is not a secret.

He has demanded the lifting of oil sanctions, imposed on Venezuela for its anti-democratic record since 2017, in part in exchange for the release of US detainees.

In June, the Treasury Department allowed two European companies, ENI and Repsol, to resume exports from Venezuela, in part in an attempt to lower oil prices that have soared around the world as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Even so, the general sanctions on the Venezuelan oil trade remain in place.

• Guaidó denounced that in Venezuela "there are more than 250 political prisoners"

And then there is the pro-democracy opposition movement in Venezuela, which was once a priority for the US government.

Talks between Caracas and Washington over the release of US citizens now overshadow negotiations between the Maduro government and opposition leaders, which began after intense street protests in 2019.

"I think once Juan Gonzalez and James Story got here, Maduro asked himself, 'What can I get out of them directly?'" an opposition source told CNN.

Although sources from both sides told CNN that discussions between Maduro and the opposition are ongoing, at this time there is no clear sign that a new round of talks is happening.

Gerardo Blyde, the main negotiator on behalf of the opposition, and Jorge Rodríguez, Maduro's representative, met in Caracas in May with the promise of traveling together to Mexico to resume talks, but so far nothing has happened.

Both the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, which mediated the talks with Venezuela, and the Venezuelan Information Ministry declined to comment.

All of this comes at an excellent time for Maduro, who has enjoyed a surge in popularity as economic conditions improve slightly.

Although hampered by US sanctions, the global rise in oil prices has had a positive impact on Venezuela's public finances.

And inflation, while still high, is now more in step with increases in the rest of the world.

(For a country used to prices doubling in a month, a 6% monthly inflation rate is almost healthy.)

The Venezuelan opposition, although keeping the door open for a new round of negotiations, has already called primary elections to choose a candidate who will challenge Maduro in November 2024, when new presidential elections are held.

"Mexico is there, if they want us, we can go," said an opposition source, referring to the negotiation process.

"But we can no longer put all our eggs in one basket."

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this story.

CitgoNicolas Maduro