A Venezuelan national who took three U.S. citizens hostage in the Dominican Republic in 2022 was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced.
Deivy Jose Rodriguez Delgado, 30, was convicted by a jury in December 2023 of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking and three counts of hostage taking. Following his prison sentence, Rodriguez Delgado is ordered to serve five years of supervised release, and he will be subject to deportation proceedings.
Rodriguez Delgado, also known as "Sebastian," kidnapped three men in separate instances between July 5 and July 30, 2022. He lured the victims online for a "date" and picked the victims up in his car. After driving a bit, Rodriguez Delgado suddenly stopped and an accomplice entered the backseat. Rodriguez Delgado and his accomplice held the victims at knifepoint, physically restrained them, and demanded ransoms.
Each of the three victims was forced at knifepoint to call friends and family to request money to secure their release. Rodriguez Delgado demanded the ransoms be paid to online banking accounts, including a CashApp account.
The victims were held for up to an hour and were released after Rodriguez Delgado believed a ransom payment had been made. The victims were robbed of their personal belongings and released on the streets of the Dominican Republic.
Dominican authorities began their investigation into the victims' reports in August 2022. Local law enforcement connected a vehicle used in the kidnappings to Rodriguez Delgado and arrested him on Sept. 14, 2022. He was transferred to U.S. custody in October that year.
--with reporting by TMX
