Venezuela releases two Americans from prison after Biden team met with Maduro
Venezuela released two Americans from detention on Tuesday in a gesture of goodwill to the United States after the first diplomatic talks between the two countries in at least three years.
One of the men released, Gustavo Cardenas, was from a group of six oil executives with Citgo, a U.S. refining company owned by Venezuela’s state oil firm, who were arrested during a business trip to Caracas in 2017, Venezuelan and U.S. sources told the Miami Herald.
The other one was Jorge Fernandez, a Cuban American who was detained in 2021 for bringing a drone into Venezuela.
Their release came on the same day that President Joe Biden said the United States would not be importing oil from Russia because of its war on Ukraine. U.S. officials are exploring whether to turn to Venezuela as a potential alternative supplier as gasoline prices soar.
The Biden administration had expressed little interest in engaging with Venezuela up until last weekend, unconvinced that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro would ever relinquish power or be toppled by the country’s democratic opposition, led by Juan Guaidó. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine moved the United States toward engagement with Venezuela.
U.S. officials traveled to Caracas last weekend and met with Maduro to discuss the potential easing of U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela, among other issues. The United States severed diplomatic ties with the Maduro government in 2019 and recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
A high-ranking member of Guaidó’s team had said earlier this week that U.S. officials gave them a description of the meeting after it had concluded.
Maduro demanded an end to all sanctions and investigations directed at his family, and that he be recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate ruler until 2024, the Guaidó official said.
U.S. officials would not comment on the release of the Americans.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said on Monday that discussions on the detention of U.S. citizens and on sanctions relief were on “different tracks.”
“They are different channels,” Psaki said. “They’re all a part of the conversation with Venezuela writ large, but not at the same time.”
The United States has targeted Venezuela’s oil sector in recent years in an effort to pressure the Maduro government to restore democratic institutions. The country produces roughly 600,000 barrels of oil a day, most of which goes to China.
Roger Carstens, U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, joined the U.S. delegation to Caracas with other administration officials over the weekend.
A U.S. official had said the delegation pushed for the release of all Americans held in Venezuelan custody, including members of the Citgo 6 and Matthew Heath, a retired U.S. Marine.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 8:31 PM.
