Wilmer Solano, a 59-year-old Venezuelan journalist with over 20 years of professional experience, was detained by CBP/ICE agents on July 26-27, 2026, during a traffic stop while working as a private transport driver at Haulover Beach in Miami Beach. Solano entered the United States legally in January 2015 on a journalist visa and filed for asylum in December 2015 after being persecuted in Venezuela for his journalism covering opposition political campaigns and figures including Henrique Capriles and Julio Borges. In August 2011, he and his cameraman were beaten by municipal officials while covering news. He previously worked for Globovisión from 2002 to 2008 and founded and directed the news agency Zorro Comunicaciones. At the time of his detention, Solano held a valid Florida work permit and driver's license. He had been granted Temporary Protected Status beginning in 2021, which expired in September 2025. According to his wife María Moreno and the Venezuelan Journalists Abroad Association (Apevex), officers detained him without a judicial warrant and without criminal charges, telling him his asylum case could take another decade and that he was in irregular immigration status. DHS confirmed the arrest and stated Solano has no immigration status allowing him to remain in the U.S. He was transported to CBP headquarters in Dania Beach with removal proceedings and an immigration court hearing scheduled for August 26, 2026.