The United States announced Wednesday the release of 10 Americans detained in Venezuela. In return, Joe Biden pardoned Alex Saab, a close friend of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was accused by the American judiciary of serious embezzlement.
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In a press release, the Venezuelan government expressed its “joy” over the release of “diplomat Alex Saab, who was unjustly imprisoned in an American prison,” and considered it a “victory.”
The businessman's arrival in Caracas was broadcast live on Venezuelan public television.
The American president does not mention Alex Saab in his press release. His release was an “extremely difficult” decision, according to a senior White House official.
Joe Biden indicated that of the 10 Americans released, six had been detained by Venezuela “without basis” and he said he was “grateful that their ordeal is over.”
The American president also announced that Venezuelan authorities had handed over to the United States a fugitive, Leonard Francis, who was implicated in a huge corruption scandal involving the American navy.
The US-Venezuela deal, in which Qatar played a mediating role, also calls for the release of at least twenty political prisoners in Caracas.
Among the released Venezuelans are a group of trade unionists who were arrested in July 2022 during protests for wage increases. They were sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial for “conspiracy” and “conspiracy to commit a crime.”
A Venezuelan opposition figure, Roberto Abdul, accused of “treason” and “conspiring with a foreign power,” also found freedom under this agreement.
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Any discussion with the Caracas regime will be politically undermined for Joe Biden, who is often accused by the Republican opposition of being too soft on Venezuela.
Alex Saab, who is considered a confidant of President Nicolas Maduro, has been imprisoned in the USA since October 2021.
The man believed by many experts to be the main figure in the financial affairs of Nicolas Maduro's regime abroad was extradited from Cape Verde to the United States in October 2021.
He is of Colombian origin and is accused by the American justice system of setting up a system to divert food aid to Venezuela for the benefit of the socialist leader and his government.
The senior White House official defended the decision to release him: “Essentially it's 10 Americans and one refugee being exchanged for one person returning to Venezuela.”
The fugitive is the Malaysian businessman Francis Leonard, nicknamed “Fat Leonard”, who was therefore handed over from Caracas to the American authorities.
While under house arrest in California, he cut off his electronic bracelet and fled before being arrested in Venezuela in September 2022.
This military subcontractor pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing U.S. Navy officers to win contracts for his shipyards.
He is also accused of overcharging for work on American ships.
According to a senior White House official, the man offered his U.S. Navy contacts cash, trips, the services of prostitutes and various gifts such as “Cuban cigars, Kobe beef or suckling pig.”
One of the senior American officials assured that easing sanctions against Venezuela was “never questioned” during the prisoner exchange talks.
He made clear that any decision on US sanctions depends on progress in political pluralism in Venezuela.
“A lot of work and coordination still needs to be done with all forces present in Venezuela to hold open elections in 2024,” another senior American official said.
Warming has occurred between Washington and Caracas in recent months. In October, the Venezuelan government and the opposition reached an agreement allowing the presence of international observers in the 2024 presidential elections.
Washington had eased its economic sanctions imposed in 2019 for six months in an attempt to force Nicolas Maduro from power. Caracas released five political prisoners.