Twenty-four Venezuelans released as part of U.S. prisoner swap, opposition says

CARACAS (Reuters) – Twenty-four Venezuelans have been freed as part of this week’s prisoner exchange deal with the United States, Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday.

The United States announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in exchange for the release of 10 Americans, at least 20 opposition-linked Venezuelans and the extradition of a fugitive Malaysian businessman from the South American country.

U.S. prosecutors had accused Saab of siphoning off some $350 million from Venezuela via the United States in a scheme that involved bribing Venezuelan government officials. He denies the charge.

Machado, posting on social media, gave no more details about who had been released within Venezuela and cautioned the opposition still had a difficult path ahead.

“The electoral path toward liberty is complex and faces multiple threats,” she said.

The deal, the result of months of negotiations mediated by Qatar between OPEC member Venezuela and the United States, came after the White House said it would need to see progress on prisoner releases in order to continue with energy sanctions relief for Caracas.

The relief was unveiled in October in response to an agreement between the Venezuelan government and the opposition which laid out some conditions for 2024 elections.

Maduro, who celebrated the return of Saab, will likely use the swap to bolster his political strength ahead of those elections, analysts and Biden critics have said.

Much of the electoral deal signed between the opposition and the government remains to be implemented, including a provision allowing opposition figures barred from holding public office to appeal their bans.

Machado has asked the supreme court to clarify whether she is subject to a ban. Though a letter confirming the ban was shared publicly in June, Machado says she has never been formally informed and that therefore any ban cannot be legitimate.

The comptroller general has until Friday to respond to the court’s request for information about Machado’s ban, but it is unclear how long the court may take to analyze the information and debate its response.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)