Venezuelan govt frees US couple facing espionage charges
CARACAS — Venezuelan Minister of Communications Jorge Rodriguez announced on Saturday that the nation’s judiciary had freed US citizen Joshua Holt and his wife, who had been arrested and charged with espionage and illegally carrying weapons.
Rodriguez said that the measure was granted after the Venezuelan government met a congressional delegation from the United States, which asked for the pair to be freed.
The minister said that this move was part of the efforts by President Nicolas Maduro to show he was ready to engage in dialogue to ensure peace and stability in the country.
Holt, 24, a US citizen, was arrested by Venezuelan intelligence services on June 30, 2016, along with his wife, Tamara Belen Caleno.
Venezuela’s then interior and justice minister Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez declared at the time that Holt and Caleno were found in possession of an AK-47 assault rifle, a fake M4 rifle, an MK2 grenade, ammunition and espionage equipment.
He added that Holt had a pilot’s license as well as expert knowledge in the handling of weapons and electronic surveillance equipment.
However, the US maintained that Holt was held for almost two years without trial.
Rodriguez said Maduro would “make every effort to maintain a respectful dialogue ... to avoid aggressions which Venezuela ... has been submitted to”.
The pair received a hero’s welcome at the White House as they returned home on Saturday following their release.
The couple’s release followed a two-year effort by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and after Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met in Caracas on Friday with Maduro.
The senators joined Holt, his wife, parents, the freed couple’s daughter Marian, and other US officials in the White House on Saturday night for a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
“You were a tough one. That was a tough situation,” Trump said.
“You’ve been very brave, actually.”
After expressing her appreciation to the president and US officials, Holt’s mother Laurie added: “I also want to say thank you to President Maduro for releasing Josh and letting him come home.”