WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Venezuela on Saturday freed seven Americans, including five oil executives, in exchange for two close associates of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro jailed in the United States on drug charges, U.S. officials said.
The exchange included Citgo Petroleum executives detained for years, in addition to US Navy veteran Matthew Heath and another US citizen named Osman Khan. They were swapped for two of Maduro’s wife’s nephews, who were arrested in 2015.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the “wrongfully detained” Americans would soon be reunited with their loved ones.
Join now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
“Today we celebrate that seven families will be whole again. To all the families who are still hurting and separated from loved ones wrongfully detained — know that we remain committed to securing their release,” Biden said.
The transfer of prisoners, which a US official said took place at an airport in an unspecified third country, follows months of secret talks with Maduro’s socialist government, which is under tough US sanctions , including on the OPEC nation’s energy sector.
It came at a time when Washington is under increasing pressure to do more to secure the freedom of dozens of Americans held overseas. The Biden administration has largely focused on Russia’s detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan.
“humanitarian reasons.”
The released Americans were all in good health and “excited to be returning home,” while the two Venezuelans were on their way to the South American country, a senior Biden administration official told reporters during a briefing. telephone press.
“PAINFUL DECISION”
Biden approved the swap weeks ago, making a “tough decision, a painful decision” that releasing the two Venezuelans was essential to securing Americans’ freedom. US officials have previously said privately that Maduro wants to use detainees as bargaining chips.
The exchange, which included Biden granting clemency to the two Venezuelans whom U.S. officials had dubbed “narco nephews,” did not change Washington’s policy toward Venezuela, a senior administration official said.
The Biden administration has only slightly eased Trump-era sanctions on Venezuela, saying it would consider bigger steps if Maduro resumes negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition and there is progress toward free elections.
An increased flow of Venezuelan oil to world markets could help replace some of the Russian supplies hit by international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, experts say.
The five Houston-based Citgo employees who were detained in Venezuela in 2017 were Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo and Jose Pereira.
Heath, a former Marine hospitalized following what his family said was a suicide attempt in June, was also released. He had been detained since 2020 on terrorism charges, which he denied.
Khan was identified as a Florida man who was arrested in January.
In return, the United States released two of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores’ nephews, Franqui Flores and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores.
The two men, arrested in Haiti in 2015 as part of a US Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation, were convicted in 2016 on US charges of attempting to make a cocaine deal of several million dollars. They were each sentenced in 2017 to 18 years in prison.
The handover of prisoners, the largest since Biden took office in January 2020, occurred in “a country between Venezuela and the United States” after the men arrived on separate planes, said a senior US official.
Citgo welcomed the news of the leaders’ release, saying in a statement that it was “grateful to the leaders in Washington who assisted in their release.”
A Venezuelan court in 2020 sentenced the leaders, accused of embezzlement, money laundering and conspiracy, to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years. They and the company maintained their innocence, and the US State Department called the charges “specious.”
“We commend President Biden for having the courage to make this deal, and we encourage him and the administration to keep this momentum going,” said Jonathan Franks, spokesperson for the Bring our Families Home campaign. , which defends Americans wrongfully detained abroad.
At least four other Americans are still being held in Venezuela, including two former US Army Special Forces members, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were arrested in 2020 in a failed raid to oust Maduro.
Venezuela freed two jailed US citizens in March following a visit to Caracas by the highest US delegation in years.
Join now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Luc Cohen, Kanishka Singh and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Diane Craft, Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.