American arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions
The family of a California man is calling for his release after they say he was wrongly arrested in Venezuela and held for tens of thousands of dollars in ransom just days after the Biden administration eased crippling oil sanctions on the socialist-led government.
The previously unreported arrest of Savoi Wright on October 24 has become the latest flashpoint in the tenuous relationship between the US and Nicolás Maduro’s government, which critics say should lead to a return to sanctions.
But all Wright’s family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to return home. They know very little about the circumstances of his arrest. No criminal charges have been filed, he has not been allowed to see a lawyer and the Venezuelan government has not said where he is being held.
“It’s a nightmare. It’s like watching a horror movie, but you’re in it,” his mother, Erin Stewart, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her home in Oakland.
Wright joins at least seven other American citizens who remain imprisoned in Venezuela. But his arrest is notable because it followed a politically risky move by President Joe Biden to roll back crippling oil sanctions on the OPEC country, coupled with an Oct. 17 agreement in Barbados between Maduro’s government and its opponents to next to hold elections. year.
Almost immediately, Maduro appeared to reject the deal when the country’s Supreme Court, packed with loyalists, suspended the results of an opposition-led primary won by Maria Corina Machado, a pro-American former lawmaker.
The Biden administration has said it is prepared to reimpose sanctions if Maduro reneges on his commitments, including undoing bans preventing Machado and others from holding office and beginning the release of political prisoners and at wrongfully detained American citizens by the end of November.
That position was reaffirmed Friday by the U.S. State Department in response to questions about Wright’s arrest.
“Failure to comply with the terms of this settlement will result in the United States reversing the steps it has taken,” spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration stepped up sanctions on Venezuela in 2019 after accusing Maduro of clinging to power through fraudulent elections, then instead recognized democratically elected opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate president.
Some former Trump administration officials say Wright’s arrest is just the latest example of Maduro acting in bad faith.
“Maduro playing games with American lives is unacceptable,” said Kimberly Breier, a former top U.S. diplomat in Latin America and architect of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Maduro. “A consensus will be reached in Washington in the coming days that the Barbados agreement, which is only a month old, is ready.”
Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s special envoy to Venezuela, added: “Maduro is calling Biden’s bluff.”
The State Department has repeatedly warned American citizens not to travel to Venezuela due to the risk of kidnapping and extortion. Sophisticated criminal groups, sometimes in cahoots with government security forces, are targeting unsuspecting men online or in neighboring Colombia with offers of romance.
Wright appears to be only the second US citizen to be arrested since Venezuela released five oil executives from Houston-based Citgo and two other Americans last year in exchange for the US government’s release of two cousins of Maduro’s wife, who were imprisoned on narcotics charge.
The 208-centimetre-tall Berkeley, California, native and graduate of Loyola Marymount University has divided his time between Oakland, Miami and South America for more than a decade, working remotely as a mortgage broker, his family said.
“He loved the nomadic lifestyle,” said Stewart, who did not know her son was in Venezuela until she learned of his arrest. “Everywhere he went, he was seen as a gentle giant and deeply loved.”
Stewart says she has spoken to her son only once since his ordeal began, after family and friends scrambled to pay a hefty ransom to his captors, which they could barely afford. Wright told how he was stopped by police while in a park with a woman who had drugs on her. His family suspects she was part of a plot. When police later ruled out any criminal wrongdoing by Wright, they determined he had no stamp in his passport and turned him over to immigration authorities for deportation, Stewart says.
It is unclear what happened next. But other detainees have told his family that Wright is being held at a former textile factory detention center run by Venezuela’s feared military counterintelligence service. Dozens of former political prisoners have reported being tortured and abused in the basement of the complex, menacingly dubbed the “House of Dreams” by guards.
Stewart says she fears her son is also being subjected to psychological torture. Her son’s health is also a concern due to strict dietary restrictions due to severe food allergies.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab did not provide any information about Wright’s case.
The other US citizens held in Venezuela include two former Green Berets – Luke Denman and Airan Berry – who were involved in an effort to oust Maduro in 2019, as well as three men – Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Cristella – who were detained for allegedly entering the country illegally from Colombia.
Wright’s family is speaking out because they believe the U.S. government did not do enough to free him. After complaining to the FBI that their son was being extorted, they were referred to the State Department, which has limited diplomatic tools to secure the release of Americans in a politically turbulent country where the U.S. embassy has been closed since 2019 .
The State Department did not respond to emailed questions about whether U.S. officials raised Wright’s detention with Maduro’s government.
“As Americans, when a loved one is in this horrific situation, you think someone is going to be there to help, and when there isn’t, it’s the worst feeling in the world,” said Moizeé Stewart, Wright’s sister . “It’s sickening that they throw up their hands and say we don’t have diplomatic relations with Venezuela, so we can’t do anything.”
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Goodman reported from Miami; Tucker from Washington.
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Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/