US frees Maduro ally in exchange for 10 imprisoned Americans and fugitive contractor

USA freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a swap for 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the extradition of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” who is linked to a Pentagon bribery scandal, reported the US government on Wednesday.

The American detainees arrived at the Kelly Airfield Annex in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday night.

Savoi Wright, a Californian who had been arrested in Venezuela in October, he said, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last,” after getting off the plane.

The agreement represents the government’s most daring attempt to USA so far to improve relations with Venezuela and obtain concessions from the self-proclaimed socialist ruler. The largest release of American prisoners in the history of the South American country comes weeks after President Joe Biden’s government agreed to suspend some sanctions against them, following the commitment of Maduro and an opposition faction to work to achieve free and fair for the 2024 presidential elections.

When referring to the return of Alex Saab, Ripe I declare that “the truth has triumphed” about the campaign of lies, threats and torture that he leads USA against someone whom he considers to be a Venezuelan diplomat who was illegally detained by an order issued by US authorities.

“President Biden… Here it is Venezuela standing with its own model… No one’s colony we will be“Maduro declared defiantly accompanied by saabwho was given a hero’s reception at the presidential palace.

The release of saabwho for a long time was considered by Washington as a financial operator of Ripe, represents an important concession to the Venezuelan president. The government of the former president donald trump invested millions of dollars to go after the Colombian-born businessman, and at one point even deployed a Navy ship to the western coast of Africa to prevent a possible escape after he was detained in Cape Verde.

U.S. officials said the decision to grant clemency was difficult but essential to bringing home the imprisoned Americansa central Washington goal that in recent years has resulted in the release of criminals once considered unredeemable.

“These individuals have lost too much valuable time with their loved ones, and their families have suffered their absence every day. I’m thankful your ordeal is finally over.“, said Biden it’s a statement.

The agreement includes extradition to USA by Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian owner of a naval services company, who is the central character in one of the largest bribery scandals in the history of the Pentagon.

But the exchange upset several Venezuelan opponents who have criticized the White House for appearing passive as Maduro repeatedly outmaneuvers Washington after the Trump administration’s pressure campaign to overthrow him failed.

Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles County public defender who was detained almost two years ago on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, was one of the American releases. After his arrival in Texas on Wednesday night, he thanked Biden“because I know that he made a complicated decision that will bring a lot of pressure on him on Capitol Hill. But he brought us back home and we are with our families. And for that we are incredibly grateful, all of us”.

Hernandez added: “Honestly, all you think about when you’re in prison is how you didn’t value your freedom when you were free.”.

Wright told reporters: “I didn’t know if it would ever come out. It is really terrifying to be in a situation where you are used to enjoying freedoms and you are locked in a cell… It is a very challenging situation”.

Electoral Commitments

In October, the White House eased sanctions on the Venezuelan oil industry after Maduro pledged to establish a level playing field for elections in 2024, when he hopes to add six years to his crisis-hit decade-long mandate. A deadline set for November 30 expired and until now Ripe He has not reversed a ban preventing his main opponent, María Corina Machado, from running for president.

Biden told reporters hours earlier that, so far, it appeared that Maduro “will fulfill its commitment to hold free elections”. For their part, the Republicans, sharing the sentiments of many in the opposition backed by USAthey said that the release of saab It would only serve to encourage Maduro to continue down an authoritarian path.

“A regrettable decision”, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, president of the Senate Intelligence Committee, published on X, formerly Twitter.

The White House was very clear in assuring that it will not hesitate to reestablish sanctions in the event that the government of Venezuela does not comply with the electoral commitments established during negotiations with the opposition. A reward of US$15 million in order to arrest Ripe to face drug trafficking charges NY It also continues in force, he assured.

The pact also requires that the government of Ripe free 21 Venezuelans, including a close ally of Machado, who has not yet commented on the release.

Among the released Americans are two former Green Berets: Luke Denman and Airan Berry, involved in an attempt to overthrow Maduro in 2019.

“It was literally an early Christmas present.Hernandez’s family said in a statement.

USA has carried out several prisoner exchanges with Venezuela in recent years, including one in October 2022 to free seven Americans, including five executives of the Houston-based oil company Citgo, in exchange for two nephews of the wife of Ripe imprisoned in USA under accusations of drug trafficking. Like the previous exchange, Wednesday’s took place at a track on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

saab, who turns 52 on Thursday, hugged his wife and two young children after stepping off the stairs of a private plane at Simón Bolívar International Airport. The first lady of VenezuelaCilia Flores, was also on site to welcome him.

It was a contrasting image with what was experienced at another airfield, in Cape Verde, where he was detained in 2020 during a fuel stopover when he was heading to Iran to negotiate oil agreements on behalf of the government of Ripe.

The charges in USA were for criminal conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a bribery network that allegedly diverted US$350 million from state contracts with the Venezuelan government to build housing.

saab He was also sanctioned for allegedly directing a scheme that diverted hundreds of millions of dollars from food import contracts at a time of famine caused mainly by shortages in the South American country.

Background of the exchange

After his arrest, the government of Ripe said saab was a special envoy of a humanitarian mission and was entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal proceedings under international law.

The speech of Ripe He made no mention of the secret meetings of saab with the DEA. At a private court hearing last year, lawyers for saab They said he had for years helped that agency unravel corruption in Maduro’s inner circle and had agreed to forgo millions of dollars in illegal profits from corrupt state contracts.

But the value of the information he shared with Americans is unknown. Some have suggested that the whole thing may have been a ruse authorized by Maduro to gather intelligence on the police activities of USA in Venezuela. In any case, saab He missed his scheduled date to turn himself in in May 2019 and was charged by federal prosecutors in Miami shortly after.

The agreement is the most recent concession by the government of Biden to bring to USA to Americans imprisoned abroad. The most high-profile trade was in December of last year, when the US government, despite objections from some Republican lawmakers and criticism from law enforcement officials, released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for women’s basketball star Brittney Griner. .

The exchanges have raised fears that USA encourage the taking of hostages abroad and present a false equivalence between Americans unjustly detained abroad in exchange for foreigners detained and convicted by American courts.

“What happened to the separation of powers?“asked Juan Cruz, who oversaw White House relations with Latin America during his work as a member of the National Security Council between 2017 and 2019. “Normally, you would have to wait for a defendant to be convicted before you could pardon him for an exchange. This is a particularly bad precedent given the possibility that Trump 2.0 is just around the corner. This invites many indirect actions by the executive”.

But government officials Biden They say gaining freedom for Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad is a government priority that requires complicated negotiations.

What made this deal more striking for the White House was the disposition of Venezuela to extradite Francis.

Francis, nicknamed “Fat Leonard”, was arrested in a San Diego hotel almost a decade ago as part of a federal sting operation. Investigators claimed he fleeced the US military of more than US$35 million by purchasing dozens of high-ranking Navy officers with alcohol, sex, parties and other gifts.

Three weeks before his sentence was handed down in September 2022, Francis staged an escape as surprising and daring as the case itself: he removed his tracking anklet and disappeared. He was detained by Venezuelan police when he tried to board a flight in Caracas.

Fact:

Tucker reported from Washington and García Cano from Caracas. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Jim Mustian in New York, Julie Watson in San Diego and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

With information from AP