US Releases Maduro Ally in Prisoner Swap With Venezuela

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Facts

• In a prisoner swap with Venezuela, the US released a close ally of Venezuelan Pres. Nicolás Maduro, Alex Saab, in exchange for 10 Americans who were imprisoned in the South American country.¹
• The deal also saw the Biden Administration secure the extradition of Leonard Francis, a wanted defense contractor better known as “Fat Leonard,” who is at the heart of a major Pentagon bribery scandal.²
• The State Department claimed that six of the 10 Americans returning home were “wrongfully detained,” including Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Joseph Cristella, and Savoi Wright. The Biden administration didn't name the other Americans who were being released.³
• Saab, a Colombian businessman arrested for money laundering in 2020, played an alleged role in a bribery scheme of Venezuelan government officials and the laundering of $350M in Venezuelan assets. Meanwhile, Fat Leonard was behind one of the biggest bribery scandals in US Navy history before he fled to Venezuela weeks before his sentencing last year.⁴
• The deal also requires Maduro’s government to free 21 Venezuelan prisoners and ensures that US sanctions on the oil-producing nation that were suspended in October remain paused.⁵
• This marks the Biden administration's latest effort to bring back Americans who are detained abroad after the White House cinched a similar deal last year that traded a Russian arms dealer for basketball star Brittney Griner.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²NPR Online News, ³CBS, ⁴NBC, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶Nbc 6 south florida.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Voz media. Biden’s administration continues to show its weakness as it bends the knee to another foreign dictator. The authoritarian Maduro regime has already shown that it has no respect for Biden’s government as it continues to win concessions from the US. Echoing last year's disastrous deal to send one of Russia’s most lethal arms dealers back to Moscow, this latest deal makes it clear that foreign dictators can hold Biden's government hostage by arresting Americans.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Newsweek. The White House secured a massive victory in its swap with Venezuela and was able to bring home US citizens who were trapped in the South American country. While some may criticize Biden for returning close Maduro ally Alex Saab, the fact is that the president has an obligation to his citizens. If swapping one Venezuelan prisoner allows 10 Americans to be freed, that’s definitely a worthwhile exchange.