CNN
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President Joe Biden announced on Saturday the return of seven Americans he said had been illegally detained in Venezuela for “many years”.
“Today, after years of wrongful detention in Venezuela, we are bringing home Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, Jose Pereira, Matthew Heath and Osman Khan. These individuals will soon be reunited with their families and returned to the arms of their loved ones where they belong,” the president said in a statement.
The seven detained Americans have been released in exchange for the release of two Venezuelans detained in the US, both grandchildren of Venezuela’s first lady Cilia Flores.
Vadell, Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano and Pereira are five of the six American oil executives known as “CITGO 6” was arrested in Venezuela more than four years ago. Two Americans were detained there, including one of the CITGO 6, released in March after the visit of two top US government officials to Caracas. Heath, a Marine veteran, was detained in September 2020. Khan has been in custody since January 2022. All seven individuals are classified as wrongfully detained by the US government.
Vadell, Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Pereira, Heath, and Khan, a senior administration official told reporters Saturday that he was “in stable health” and was receiving care. medical care and “a wide range of support options.” The official said they are now on their way back to the US. A second senior official told reporters that US officials met with each of the seven individuals when they were released and are expected to undergo further evaluation on Saturday.
Biden spoke to each family to “share the good news of their release,” the first senior official said.
The official described the prisoner exchange with Venezuela as a “difficult” and “painful” decision for Biden and the US government.
“Throughout that negotiation, it became clear that one concrete step was needed to achieve the only acceptable outcome: the outcome of free Americans. The president made a difficult decision, a painful decision and delivered something that the Venezuelan people have been actively seeking. In particular, during the course of the negotiations, it became apparent that the release of two Venezuelans, Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, are sometimes referred to as ‘Narco’s nephews’ due to their relationship with Nicolas’s wife. Maduro, is essential to ensure the official said.
In 2016, Flores and Campo was convicted in a federal court of the United States plotted to smuggle more than 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. They were sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2017.
Biden, the first official said, “made the difficult decision to grant clemency” to both Flores and Campo.
The president approved the swap after a “few weeks” and followed by negotiating and logistical efforts “that will take some time to work out,” the official said.
The released Venezuelans and Americans were both flown to “a country between Venezuela and the United States” in exchange. After both planes landed, there was both virtual and visual confirmation “that the correct passenger was ready to travel” and “the passenger departed on aircraft other than the one they had arrived from,” the official said. first said.
Roger Carstens, the president’s special envoy for hostage affairs, was present with freed Americans, the official added. The official said Carstens’ initial impression was that the freed Americans were “overjoyed” to be back with their families, who declined to elaborate further on their conditions.
A US State Department spokesperson’s announcement of their release comes months after a US government delegation quietly traveled to Venezuela “to discuss the welfare and safety of its citizens”. USA in Venezuela”. told CNN at that time.
The Zambrano family is “delighted” that they have been released and can now “receive the necessary medical care they need” in the US, the family said in a statement.
The family said: “We wouldn’t have come this far without campaigners and other hostage families who generously shone in the dark to bring us to this blessed day.” family said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the latest development and congratulated State Department employees for their “tireless efforts to achieve this result”.
“While we celebrate the release of these US citizens from Venezuela, we still have a lot of work to do. The safety and security of Americans around the world is my highest priority as Secretary of State, and we will continue to press for the release of all wrongfully detained US citizens. left abroad,” he said in a statement.
A spokesperson for our Bring Family Home Campaign celebrated the news of the detainees being released “after a long difficult period of confinement”.
“We applaud President Biden for having the courage to make this deal and encourage him and the Administration to continue to build momentum starting with the release of (Trevor Reed),” spokesman Jonathan Franks said, alluding to to former Marines detained in Russia in 2019 and released in a prisoner swap this early year.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
