The regime of Nicolás Maduro will celebrate Christmas by receiving a great “gift” from President Joe Biden, who agreed to release Alex Saab in exchange for just over 30 hostages currently in the hands of tyranny in Venezuela.
According to unofficial reports and high-level Venezuelan sources, Maduro will release 36 people, including 12 Americans. In exchange, Biden will give him Saab, one of the most important pieces at play for the Venezuelan regime due to his connections with drug trafficking, money laundering and international terrorism. Saab was in some way considered the “jewel in the crown” because he has been the creator of the kleptocracy network that supports Maduro.
It can now be said that the United States has already delivered all the essential bargaining chips for the regime: it eased sanctions, handed over Saab, and a few months ago, it also released the “narco-nephews.”
The released
According to reports, so far, 31 people have been released, including 8 Americans, of whom six were unjustly detained in Venezuela.
Among the Americans who have regained freedom are Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Ryan Cristella, who were accused of illegally entering the South American country, as well as Californian businessman Savoi Wright, whose reasons for initial detention have not been specified.
In addition, the releases of former Green Berets Luke Alexander Denman and Airan Berry stand out, sentenced to 20 years for their alleged participation in an armed incursion in Venezuela in 2020.
The White House also revealed that another of those released is Leonard Francis, who was under house arrest in the United States but managed to leave the country and was captured by Venezuelan authorities. Leonard was to be sentenced “for his lead role in a brazen bribery and corruption case.”
The agreement also included the release of six Venezuelan union members who were arrested in July 2022 for alleged crimes of conspiracy and association to commit a crime. The leaders were identified as Alcides Bracho, Alonso Meléndez, Emilio Negrín, Gabriel Blanco, Néstor Astudillo and Reynaldo Cortés.
Another notable beneficiary of the agreement was the lawyer Roberto Abdul-Hadi, a member of the organizing committee of the opposition primaries, who spent 14 days in prison and was secretly presented before a terrorism court after the Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, said that the opposition activist would be arrested for crimes of “treason,” “conspiracy with a foreign power,” “money laundering and criminal association.”
Alfredo Romero, president director of the Penal Forum, also confirmed the release of Ivonne Barrios, Leonvardo Primera, Guillermo Zarraga, Daeven Rodríguez and Andry Finol, all of them allegedly involved in the case of Matthew Heath, an American Navy veteran who was also detained for alleged acts of terrorism.
Hasta ahora podemos confirmar excarcelación de IVONNE BARRIOS (INOF), LEONVARDO PRIMERA (Rodeo III), GUILLERMO ZARRAGA (Yare II), DAEVEN RODRIGUEZ, ANDRY FINOL (Yare II) También: Alcides Bracho, Gabriel Blanco, Emilio Negrín, Alonso Meléndez, Néstor Astudillo y Reynaldo Cortés.
— Alfredo Romero (@alfredoromero) December 20, 2023
Likewise, the NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón revealed that Carlos Jaimes, Juan Carlos Guillen, César Guevara and Luís Narváez are some of the other released people.
#ATENCIÓN | Hasta este momento tenemos conocimiento de la excarcelación de 31 personas, de ellas apenas 19 son presos políticos:
1.-Ivonne Barrios (INOF)
2.-Leonvardo Primera (Rodeo III)
3.-Guillermo Zárraga (Yare II)
4.-Daeven Rodríguez (Yare II)
5.-Andry Finol (Yare II)…— Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (@JEPvzla) December 20, 2023
It is important to note that at the time of this publication, the names of all the 36 individuals on the list who are supposed to be released by the Nicolás Maduro regime were not known.
This is a developing news story.
