Students of the Police Academy in Caracas do a human banner with the caption: "Free Diplomat Saab." Photo: Twitter/@CrixoVzl.
This Tuesday, February 28, a possible agreement has emerged to ensure the release of US citizens detained in Venezuela in exchange for the release of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, kidnapped by the United States, according to a Newsweek exclusive report.
According to sources, neither the United States nor Venezuela ruled out that a swap would take place. In a letter from Eyvin Hernández, a Salvadoran-US lawyer detained in Venezuela for entering the country illegally, it is suggested that in exchange for Saab, he and other US citizens detained in Venezuela, including Jerrel Kenemore, Jason Saad, and Joseph Cristella, could be released.
Saab was illegally detained on June 12, 2020, by local authorities in Cape Verde at the request of the United States. A year later, he was extradited to the North American country, where he faces charges of alleged conspiracy to commit money laundering.
While neither Washington nor Caracas have confirmed the details of such an agreement, there is a recent precedent for the exchange of detainees despite the ongoing political dispute.
Last year, seven US citizens were exchanged, including CITGO (PDVSA’s US subsidiary) employees, José Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Alirio Zambrano, and José Luis Zambrano, as well as a former US Navy corporal, Matthew Heath, and a graduate of the University of Central Florida, Osman Khan. From the Venezuelan side, Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas were liberated.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
