The Biden administration has released a message close ally by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in an exchange for captured Americans, The Associated Press has learned.
Alex Saab, who was accused of leading Maduro's money laundering operation and arrested in 2020 while awaiting trial, was released on Wednesday.
In return, Maduro agreed to release some, if not all, of at least 10 U.S. citizens jailed in Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The White House declined to comment.
Officials have not released the names of the Americans who will be released from Venezuelan prison, but there were reports Tuesday that they included former US special forces soldiers Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were arrested by Maduro forces after a rogue attempt to a coup.
On Friday and again on Monday, two files were filed under seal in federal court in Miami in the long-dormant criminal case, an indication that a deal was in the works behind the scenes.
Alex Saab, who was arrested in 2020 on a US warrant for money laundering, was released on Wednesday.
Officials have not released the names of the Americans who will be released from Venezuelan prison, but there were reports Tuesday that they included former US special forces soldiers Luke Denman and Airan Berry, arrested by Maduro forces after an alleged coup attempt
The US has long accused Saab of being a bag man for Maduro. Saab's release would be seen as a major concession to Maduro, an authoritarian leader who is himself the target of a US $15 million reward for anyone who brings him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The Chavista regime, which had led a massive campaign to obtain Saab's release, announced a formal celebration at the Miraflores presidential palace on Wednesday evening.
The deal is also likely to anger Venezuela's opposition, which has lately criticized the White House for standing by while the OPEC nation's leader has repeatedly outmaneuvered the US government after Trump's maximum pressure campaign government had failed to overthrow him.
In October, the White House eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, promising to reimpose restrictions if Maduro fails to fulfill his promise by November 30 to pave the way for free and fair elections next year.
That deadline has passed and so far Maduro has failed to overturn a ban that prevented his main opponent, María Corina Machado, from running for office.
Among the Americans behind bars in Venezuela are two former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were involved an attempt to oust Maduro in 2019. Also arrested are Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Cristella, who are accused of illegally entering the country from Colombia. More recently, Venezuela arrested Savoi Wright, a 38-year-old businessman from California.
Saab, 51, was taken off a private jet during a refueling stop in Cape Verde en route to Iran, where he was sent to negotiate oil deals on behalf of Maduro's government. The charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering, linked to a bribery scheme that allegedly siphoned off $350 million through state contracts to build affordable housing for the Venezuelan government.
Maduro's government has insisted that Saab traveled to Iran to buy food and medical supplies while he was detained in Cape Verde. Saab was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly carrying out a scheme involving Maduro's inner circle and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from food import contracts at a time of widespread hunger, mainly due to shortages in the South American country.
Ten years after the start of the crisis, supermarkets are now fully stocked, but few can afford food. The monthly minimum wage is about $3.60, just enough to buy a liter of water.
The Trump administration held up Saab as a trophy and spent millions of dollars pursuing the Colombian-born businessman. At one point it even sent a Navy warship to the coast of West Africa to warn the Venezuelans.
Maduro's government has argued that Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat who is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution under international law.
But his lawyers said in a letter last year hearing behind closed doors that Saab had secretly spoken to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration before his arrest, helped authorities untangle corruption in Maduro's inner circle and agreed to forfeit millions of dollars in illegal proceeds from corrupt state contracts.
The deal is the latest concession from the Biden administration in the name of bringing Americans imprisoned abroad home. The most notable prisoner exchange took place last December when, despite the objections of some Republicans in Congress and criticism from some law enforcement officials, the US government traded Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner.
The series of barter transactions has raised concerns that the U.S. is encouraging the taking of hostages abroad and creating a false equivalency between Americans wrongfully detained abroad and foreigners who have been appropriately prosecuted and convicted in U.S. courts. Biden administration officials say securing the freedom of wrongfully detained Americans and hostages abroad is a core administration priority that will require tough deals.