US President Joe Biden announced, on Saturday, that Venezuela has released seven American prisoners it has “after years of unjustified detention,” while Caracas confirmed the release of Venezuelans from American prisons.
Biden did not mention the Venezuelans, nor did he speak explicitly about a prisoner exchange, although the two announcements were issued almost simultaneously.
“Today, after years of unjustified detention in Venezuela, we bring home Jorge Toledo, Tomoe Fadel, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, Jose Pereira, Matthew Heath and Osman Khan,” Biden said.
The US President affirmed his firm commitment to the release of any American who is imprisoned or imprisoned without a right in all parts of the world.
In announcing the release of its two citizens, Venezuela referred to long-running negotiations with the United States.
“Following several conversations held since March 5 with representatives of the US government, two Venezuelan youths who were unfairly imprisoned in this country have been released,” a Venezuelan government statement said. The statement also confirmed the release of a group of Americans “on humanitarian grounds.”
A senior White House official said, in a conference call, that the seven Americans are “currently on their way to their homes and families in the United States.”
And the first five detainees whose names Biden announced are former cadres of the oil company “Citgo”, four Americans born in Venezuela and a Venezuelan permanently resident in the United States. They were convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years.
Citgo is the US subsidiary of the state-run Venezuelan Oil Corporation.
The other two Americans released had been arrested separately.
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