The United States has secured the release of 10 American citizens who have been detained in Venezuela, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday. The figure includes six Americans who were considered to be wrongfully detained.

In exchange, the U.S. freed Alex Saab, a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. also secured the extradition of a fugitive at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal.

"These individuals have lost far too much precious time with their loved ones, and their families have suffered every day in their absence," Biden said. "I am grateful that their ordeal is finally over, and that these families are being made whole once more."

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. secured the release of 10 jailed Americans from Venezuela, including six considered to be wrongfully detained, in exchange for a close ally of the country's president Nicolás Maduro

  • The U.S. also secured the extradition of Leonard Glenn "Fat Leonard" Francis, a fugitive at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal

  • The largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history comes weeks after the Biden administration agreed to suspend some sanctions, following a commitment by Maduro and an opposition faction to work toward free and fair conditions for the 2024 presidential election

The American detainees were back on U.S. soil late Wednesday. Six of them arrived in San Antonio, Texas.

Savoi Wright, a Californian who had been arrested in Venezuela in October, said, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last” after disembarking the plane.

"All the Americans who were wrongfully detained in Venezuela are now safely back in the United States," White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on social media. "Welcome home."

The largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history comes weeks after the Biden administration agreed to suspend some sanctions, following a commitment by Maduro and an opposition faction to work toward free and fair conditions for the 2024 presidential election.

"We are ensuring that the Venezuelan regime meets its commitments," Biden said. "They have announced an electoral roadmap – agreed to by opposition parties – for competitive Presidential elections in 2024. This a positive and important step forward. And today, they are releasing twenty political prisoners, on top of five released previously."

"We will continue to monitor this closely and take appropriate action if needed," the president added. "We stand in support of democracy in Venezuela and the aspirations of the Venezuelan people."

The president also detailed the return of Leonard Glenn Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," the Malaysian owner of a ship-servicing company in Southeast Asia and the mastermind behind one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history.

"Additionally, a fugitive named Leonard Francis, who fled the United States before he could be sentenced for his lead role in a brazen bribery and corruption case – was extradited from Venezuela so that he will face justice for crimes he committed against the U.S. Government and the American people," the president added.

Francis fled home custody in San Diego in September 2022 and was arrested by Venezuelan police attempting to board a flight at the Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas.

Biden hailed the release of the jailed Americans while warning U.S. citizens to abide by the country's warning not to travel to Venezuela.

"Reuniting wrongfully detained Americans with their loved ones has been a priority for my Administration since day one. As is the return to the United States of fugitives from justice," the president said. "But even as we celebrate the return of these Americans, we also remain deeply focused on securing the release of the hostages in Gaza and wrongfully detained Americans around the world, including Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who are being detained in Russia, and Americans in Afghanistan, Syria, and China. We will not stop working until we bring them all home."

The release of Saab, a Maduro associate who was arrested on a U.S. warrant for money laundering in 2020 and long was regarded as a criminal trophy by Washington, is a significant concession to the Venezuelan leader.

Maduro celebrated the return of Alex Saab as a “triumph for truth” over what he called a U.S.-led campaign of lies, threats and torture against someone he considers a Venezuelan diplomat illegally arrested on a U.S. warrant.

“President Biden, we won’t be anyone’s colony,” a defiant Maduro said with Saab at his side for a hero's welcome at the presidential palace.

U.S. officials said the decision to grant him clemency was difficult but essential in order to bring home jailed Americans, a core administrative objective that in recent years has resulted in the release of criminals who once once been seen as untradeable.

“Sometimes that means you’ve got to make some difficult decisions,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

The exchange would also be seen as a major U.S. concession to Maduro, likely angering hard-liners in the Venezuelan opposition who have criticized the White House for standing by as the leader of the OPEC nation has repeatedly outmaneuvered Washington after the Trump administration’s campaign to topple him failed.

In October, the White House eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas and mining industries but threatened to reimpose the restrictions if Maduro, by Nov. 30, did not live up to his promise to pave the way for free and fair elections next year. He is seeking in 2024 to add six years to his decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency. That deadline has passed and so far Maduro has failed to reverse a ban blocking his chief opponent, María Corina Machado, from running for office.