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(L–R) CITGO oil executives Jose Angel Pereira, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Tomeu Vadell, and Alirio Jose Zambrano stand outside the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service in Caracas, Venezuela, in a file photo. Posted on Twitter by Jorge Arreaza/Venezuela's Foreign Ministry via AP
WASHINGTON—Venezuela has freed seven imprisoned Americans in exchange for the United States releasing two nephews of regime leader Nicolás Maduro’s wife who had been jailed for years on drug smuggling conspiracy convictions, the White House said Saturday.
The swap of the Americans, including five oil executives held for nearly five years, follows months of back channel diplomacy by Washington’s top hostage negotiator and other U.S. officials.
