Deal with Venezuela
USA exchanges Maduro confidants
December 20, 2023, 10:14 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Venezuela is under authoritarian rule by President Maduro and has been in a serious crisis for years. There will be elections next year. The US government has been demanding this for a long time. Now both countries agree on a prisoner exchange.
The government of US President Joe Biden has released a confidant of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from prison. In return, several Americans imprisoned in Venezuela will be released, the White House announced. Maduro’s confidant is the Colombian businessman Alex Saab. The US government hopes that the exchange will keep the doors open to continue dialogue with Venezuela and that the country will pursue a more democratic path in the future, a US government official said.
Saab was arrested on the Cape Verde Islands in 2020 when his private jet needed to refuel on the way to Iran. A year later he was extradited to the USA, where he was investigated for, among other things, money laundering. According to US investigators, Saab is also likely to have extensive information about illegal transactions by the family of the authoritarian President Maduro and high-ranking officials in Venezuela. According to the US government, US President Biden did not make the decision to extradite Saab easy.
According to information from the White House, ten Americans will be extradited to the USA in exchange – including six who were wrongfully imprisoned. Venezuela is also handing over businessman Leonard Francis to the United States, the US government official said. Francis had pleaded guilty in a corruption scandal involving luxury travel and prostitutes in the US Navy, but escaped from house arrest in the US in 2022. He was arrested by the authorities there while on the run in Venezuela. As part of the agreement, Venezuela will also release 20 compatriots who are being held as political prisoners.
Once-rich Venezuela is suffering from mismanagement, corruption and sanctions. The South American country has been in a deep political, economic and humanitarian crisis for years. Maduro takes tough action against government opponents. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president at the beginning of 2019 and tried unsuccessfully to force Maduro out of office. The US government is calling for free elections and dialogue between the government and the opposition. Both parties agreed in October to hold a presidential election in the second half of 2024. Washington has recently relaxed sanctions against the country – especially with regard to the oil sector.