An American set free by Venezuela on Saturday was welcomed home at the White House.

Man from Utah greeted at White House after reunion with his parents

WASHINGTON — Joshua Holt, who traveled to Venezuela from Utah in 2016 to marry a Spanish-speaking Mormon woman but soon found himself jailed and later branded the CIA’s top spy in Latin America, was set free by the anti-American Maduro government on Saturday in what his family called “this miracle.”

Holt and his wife, Thamara Caleno, arrived Saturday evening at Washington Dulles International Airport for a tearful reunion with his parents, Laurie and Jason Holt. The family was then welcomed to the White House by President Donald Trump.

“I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude,” said an emotional Holt, sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office. “Those two years, they were a very, very, very difficult two years. Not really the great vacation that I was looking for ... I’m just so grateful for what you guys have done.”

Trump praised Holt’s bravery and thanked the lawmakers who lobbied for his release, as well as Holt’s parents. To Holt, Trump said: “You’ve gone through a lot. More than most people could endure.”

When he departed the Caracas airport earlier in the day, Holt told The Associated Press that the ordeal had left him “exhausted.”

Their release came one day after Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., held a surprise meeting in Caracas with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration says runs a “dictatorship” and just won re-election in a “sham” vote.

Months of secret, backchannel talks between an aide to Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and close allies of Maduro preceded their return. Yet Holt’s release had seemed unlikely even a week ago.

Venezuela’s communications minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said their release was a goodwill gesture that followed months of dialogue between the Maduro government and U.S. lawmakers.

“We’re praying that this type of gesture ... will allow us to strengthen what we’ve always sought: dialogue, harmony, respect for our independence and respect for our sovereignty,” he said.

Alex Brandon The Associated Press President Donald Trump talks as Joshua Holt, who was released from a prison in Venezuela, joins him Saturday at the White House.