Ten Americans Wrongfully Detained in Venezuela Return Home in Historic Prisoner Exchange

Ten Americans who were wrongfully detained in Venezuela have been released and returned to the United States as part of a prisoner exchange between the two countries. The United States freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of the Americans and the return of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal.

The defense contractor, Leonard Glenn Francis, was arrested in Venezuela and had been in custody there since. He was returned to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange and is expected to face additional charges. Francis had snipped off his ankle monitor last year and disappeared weeks before a sentencing hearing on charges that he offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others.

Savoi Wright, a Californian who had been arrested in Venezuela in October, expressed his joy upon disembarking the plane, saying, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last.”

The Biden administration announced the prisoner exchange on Wednesday, and the ten Americans were welcomed back to the United States on Thursday. The exchange marks a major diplomatic victory for the Biden administration and a step forward in restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries.