The release was the result of negotiations between the Venezuelan government, the opposition Unity Platform and the White House, in line with agreements signed in Barbados in October to promote political rights and electoral guarantees for all and protect the vital interests of the nation.
These pacts, still fully developed, led, as the head of the official dialogue delegation, Jorge Rodríguez, said, to the partial lifting by Washington of some economic sanctions in the areas of oil, gas and mining.
In addition to establishing a mechanism to review the disqualifications of some Venezuelan politicians seeking to participate in the presidential elections in the second half of next year.
The talks also forced a prisoner exchange with the U.S. government that resulted in the release of the Colombian-born and naturalized Venezuelan diplomat for some U.S. citizens, including two terrorists, and nationals.
Saab arrived in the Bolivarian Republic on December 20 accompanied by Rodríguez and was received on the tarmac of the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, La Guaira State by first combatant and member of the National Assembly Cilia Flores and her family. , wife and sons.
Once on land, the diplomat hugged his wife Camilla Fabri and the first fighter tightly.
The Bolivarian government, in a statement, joyfully celebrated the release and return to its country of the official who was unjustly kidnapped in a US prison in violation of international law.
The note said the people “received him with pride” after enduring three and a half years of illegal detention “under cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” in violation of their human rights and the Vienna Convention, which grants diplomatic immunity.
Alex Saab is a victim of retaliation by the US government for his extraordinary international efforts to protect the social rights of all Venezuelans in the face of intensifying unilateral coercive measures, he noted.
His freedom, the note says, is a symbol of the victory of Bolivarian peace diplomacy and the thousands of expressions of solidarity from all parts of the world expressed by social movements, intellectuals, artists and other fighters for justice.
President Nicolás Maduro received Saab at the golden door of the Miraflores Palace, the seat of the government, warmly hugged him and greeted his wife and children who accompanied him.
He stated that he saluted a “brave and patriotic man” who withstood the most adverse and painful conditions of kidnappings, filthy prisons, physical and psychological torture, threats and lies, emphasizing that after 1,280 days and 40 months, truth and justice prevailed.
I knew this day had to come, and it came, a blessed day, December 20th, forever unforgettable!, he emphasized.
In dialogue with the press, the head of the Venezuelan delegation in the dialogues with the opposition of the Unity Platform expressed his deepest, greatest joy and the conviction that with the perseverance and strength demonstrated by the government, a task has been achieved. almost impossible”.
Sooner or later the “unspeakable physical and psychological tortures” to which he was subjected, the beatings, the drowning, the inhumane treatment and “the knocking out of three teeth” will become known, and he stressed the need to know this Who committed these crimes?
The released diplomat said life is a “permanent miracle” and today the miracle of freedom and justice has become a reality.
Saab said he was proud to serve the Venezuelan people and “this humane, loyal government that does not give up, and a government that, like me, never gives up, and a people that never gives up either, we will always win.” said he said.
He described this moment as historic, in which the Bolivarian Republic once again prevailed as the only way forward, and with President Nicolás Maduro's strong belief that “dialogue bears greater fruit than hate.”
rgh/jcd