Detained American released in Venezuela: Trump
US President Donald Trump has announced that Venezuela has freed an American national from detention.
In a tweet on Saturday morning, Trump did not identify the American by name but said he would be welcomed at the White House with his family in the evening.
Good news about the release of the American hostage from Venezuela. Should be landing in D.C. this evening and be in the White House, with his family, at about 7:00 P.M. The great people of Utah will be very happy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
Joshua Holt was arrested shortly after arriving in Venezuela about two years ago.
Speaking at a news conference in Caracas on Saturday, Venezuela Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez confirmed that Holt and his wife, Thamy, were freed as part of efforts by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government to maintain "respectful diplomatic relations" with Washington.
"This type of gesture ... allows us to consolidate what has always been our standpoint: dialogue, agreement, respect for our independence, respect for our sovereignty," Rodriguez said.
Holt and his wife had been charged with espionage, violence and spreading activities against Venezuela's constitutional order, he said.
In July 2016, Venezuela said it had arrested Joshua Holt and his Venezuelan wife on charges of fomenting unrest against embattled President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez said that the country’s intelligence service had detained Holt in a public housing complex on the western outskirts of the capital, Caracas, on June 30, 2016.
He was arrested, according to Lopez, on suspicion of “urging armed groups to destabilize Venezuela.”
On Tuesday, Venezuela kicked out the top two US diplomatic representatives in the country in response to Washington's latest round of sanctions imposed over recent election results.
President Maduro ordered the expulsion of US charge d'affaires Todd Robinson and deputy head of mission Brian Naranjo and declared both of them "persona non grata."
On Monday, Trump boosted sanctions against Caracas, making it harder for the country to liquidate state assets.
Washington has already imposed sanctions against Venezuela and blamed, together with its allies in the region and elsewhere, Maduro’s government for the country’s acute economic crisis.
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