On Saturday, six U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident were released from Venezuela and allowed to return to the U.S. via a major prisoner exchange.
Washington has maintained that the seven prisoners released were wrongfully detained in South America. Returning to Venezuela as part of the exchange were two relatives of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro who had been convicted on drug trafficking charges.
President Biden praised the release of the U.S. citizens, noting that some had been imprisoned since 2017. He has noted that his administration is working to prevent Americans from being held abroad.
“These individuals will soon be reunited with their families and back in the arms of their loved ones where they belong,” Biden said. “I am grateful for the hard work of dedicated public servants across the U.S. government who made this possible.”
Those freed made their way to a medical facility in San Antonio Saturday evening, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
According to senior administration officials, the families of those who were released spoke with Biden and are said to be in stable health, the Journal reported.
The seven Americans weren’t the only ones freed on Saturday, though, with Iran releasing Siamak Namazi, a 51-year-old who had been jailed in the middle east since 2015, the New York Times reported.
The two releases represent one of the largest mass releases of Americans detained abroad in recent memory.
Officials shared that the transfer went down in an undisclosed country between the two nations. This is just the latest from Biden’s White House to make an effort in prisoner swaps.
However, the country is still working on releasing WNBA star Brittney Griner who has been held in Russia since just before the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Venezuela shared that the release of the American was “on humanitarian grounds.”
But not everyone is on board with the prisoner exchange, as some have said that it was a blow to law enforcement investigating drug trafficking. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) shared on Twitter that it will only incentivize other nations to take more Americans hostage.
“They released 7 innocent hostages in exchange for two convicted drug dealer nephews of a dictator,” Rubio said. “This is why terrorists & tyrants keep taking Americans hostage, they know they can get something for them in return.”
Nonetheless, the Americans have returned to the U.S., where they are currently recovering from years of imprisonment.
The White House did not make a statement on the release from Iran, but it did welcome back the seven from Venezuela; Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, Jose Pereira, Matthew Heath, and Osman Khan.
Related
Related
