(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States has reached a deal to secure the release of 10 citizens from Venezuela, including six people who it said had been wrongfully detained, according to the White House.
As part of the agreement, U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to grant clemency to Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and ally of President Nicolas Maduro who was in a Miami jail awaiting trial on a charge of money laundering.
Saab, who was arrested on a U.S. warrant for money laundering in 2020 – was released from custody and returned to Venezuela on Wednesday, the Venezuelan government said.
U.S. prosecutors have accused Saab of siphoning $350 million from Venezuela via the United States in a scheme that involved bribing Venezuelan government officials. He has denied the charge.
The White House said Venezuela had agreed to release at least 20 Venezuelan prisoners, including “political detainees”.
The prisoner swap talks were facilitated by Qatar, the White House said. Qatar’s chief negotiator met Maduro last week.
Six Venezuelan activists have already been freed, according to their lawyer and the wife of one of them. The longtime education campaigners were convicted on conspiracy charges this year and sentenced to 16 years while proclaiming their innocence.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/20/venezeula-us-reach-prisoner-swap-deal
