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, saying he was “overwhelmed with gratitude.”
“Those two years, they were a very, very, very difficult two years,” said an emotional Mr. Holt, sitting next to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office. “Not really the great vacation that I was looking for ... I’m just so grateful for what you guys have done.”
To Mr. Holt, Mr. Trump said- “You’ve gone through a lot. More than most people could endure.”
The Utah man’s mother, Laurie Holt, thanked Mr. Trump and the lawmakers for her son’s safe return, adding- “I also want to say thank you to President Maduro for releasing Josh and letting him to come home.”
Their release came one day after Sen. Bob Corker, Republican-Tennesse., held a surprise meeting in Caracas with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the Trump administration says runs a “dictatorship” and just won re-election in a “sham” vote.
Mr. Trump, in a tweet, described Mr. Holt as a “hostage.” The U.S. contended Mr. Holt was held on trumped up charges.
Months of secret, backchannel talks between an aide to Mr. Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and close allies of Mr. Maduro preceded their return. Yet Mr. Holt’s release had seemed unlikely even a week ago.
Joining Trump in the Oval Officer were Corker, Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee and Utah Rep. Mia Love. The lawmakers thanked Mr. Trump for his support.
The White House learned from Mr. Corker on Friday of Mr. Holt’s impending release, according to a U.S. official who has closely followed Mr. Holt’s plight and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.
When he departed the Caracas airport earlier, Mr. Holt told The Associated Press that the ordeal had left him “exhausted.”
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.
Instead, the couple was arrested on June 30 at her family’s apartment in a government housing complex on the outskirts of Caracas. Authorities accused him of stockpiling an assault rifle and grenades, and suggested that his case was linked to other unspecified U.S. attempts to undermine Maduro’s rule amid deep economic and political turbulence.
They were held in a notorious Caracas prison, run by the secret police, that also is home to dozens of top Maduro opponents jailed during the past few years of political unrest in the country. Their trial was set to begin this month after repeated delays that led the Trump administration to question the motives for his detention.
Until Mr. Trump’s tweet on Saturday, the U.S. had stopped short of publicly calling Mr. Holt a “hostage.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., spoke to Mr. Trump at length on Friday night and later said the couple’s release “will in no way change U.S. policy toward the dictatorship in Venezuela.”
The White House press secretary issued a statement to that point on Saturday night, saying policy was not changing even while thanking the government for releasing the Holts. The statement also called the recent elections “illegitimate” and urged the release of all political prisoners.
The Trump administration has threatened crippling oil sanctions on Venezuela for Maduro’s decision to go forward with the presidential election last week.
The U.S. government at first avoided ratcheting up public pressure on Venezuela in light of their already strained relations, but eventually raised Holt’s case with the highest levels of the Venezuelan government and decried his treatment in prison.
Mr. Corker was seen live on state TV on Friday shaking hands with Mr. Maduro and being greeted by first lady Cilia Flores as he entered the presidential palace. Mr. Corker left an hour later; neither the senator nor the President made any statements.
Laurie Holt worked feverishly to bring attention to her son’s incarceration, hosting rallies, fundraisers and doing media interviews. She said her son has suffered numerous health problems in jail, including kidney stones and respiratory problems. He was depressed and at one point lost so much weight that he dropped several pant sizes, she said.
In their statement, the Holt family said, “We thank you for your collaboration during this time of anguish. We ask that you allow us to meet with our son and his wife before giving any interviews and statements. We are grateful to all who participated in this miracle.”
