US Prisoner Freed in Venezuela, Oil License Also at Center of Exchange..

Venezuelan Authorities have released Joseph St. Clair, a young veteran of the United States Air Force, who was arrested in Caracas on November 1, 2024 and has been detained since then. St. Clair was then handed over to the US special envoy in Caracas, Richard Grenell, who has been in delicate negotiations with the Venezuelan government since January. The former soldier then left by plane for the United States…

No ambiguity, but a quid pro quo: in exchange for the release of St.Clair and other US citizens detained in Caracas, Washington is considering the possibility of granting the US multinational Chevron – and other affiliated companies – a second 60-day extension of its license to operate in Venezuela, which expires on May 27. An extension that thus reopens the negotiating table for the renewal of a further extraction agreement to allow oil multinationals to operate in the country.

The notification of the end of operations had reached not only Chevron, but also other oil companies including Eni and Repsol, which are now awaiting the outcome of the negotiations between Caracas and Washington, The release opens further avenues for foreigners detained in the South American country in the months following the controversial presidential elections of the summer of 2024, including the Venetian aid worker Alberto Trentini and seven other Italian citizens. The release was also celebrated by the lawyer Alfredo Romero, founder of the NGO Foro Penal, who announced that there are still nine hundred political prisoners in Venezuela, including 79 foreigners. Among them, adds the human rights organization Calas, at least thirty are said to be in a condition of “forced disappearance”, which makes it impossible to know the destination of the prisoner.

Hostage diplomacy – There is a detail that risks being overlooked in the note released by the families: the mention of Adam Boehler, US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs (Sepha). This is the White House office that has the task of “ensuring the safe release of US citizens taken hostage or arbitrarily detained beyond federal borders”, as stated on the state.gov website. Sepha supports the detainees and their families, also in collaboration with private organizations, and above all manages the practices inherent to hostage diplomacy. This dynamic is confirmed by the same prisoners released in January from Rodeo I, including David Estrella, who say they were never informed of the reasons for their imprisonment, finding themselves trapped in a political game bigger than themselves. It is also worth noting the collaboration between the White House and the associations of the detainees’ families.