Venezuela released seven imprisoned Americans in exchange for the release of two relatives of President Nicolas Maduro, who have been jailed in the United States for years on drug charges.
Five oil executives, including members of the Citgo 6, and two others make up the hostages included in the deal, which was reported by the Associated Press on Saturday afternoon.
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“After extraordinary efforts and perseverance across the State Department and wider U.S. government for many months, these wrongfully detained Americans and legal permanent residents are free and will soon be reunited with their loved ones,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, and Jose Pereira are the Citgo oil executives who have been held since 2017. Matthew Heath, a former U.S. Marine corporal from Tennessee, and Osman Khan were the other two Americans freed in the swap.
“The Bring Our Families [Home] Campaign enthusiastically welcomes today’s prisoner exchange with Venezuela which will bring 7 deserving Americans home after a long and difficult captivity,” Jon Franks, a spokesman for the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, said in a statement. “We applaud President Biden for having the courage to make this deal and encourage him and the Administration to continue building upon the momentum that begun with Trevor Reed’s release.“
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The U.S., in return, freed Franqui Flores and his cousin Efrain Campo, the nephews of Maduro’s wife, were granted clemency by President Joe Biden, and then released, according to the AP. They were arrested in Haiti in a Drug Enforcement Agency sting in 2015 and convicted the following year.
