Biden Says Prisoner Swap Deal With Maduro ‘Looks Good’

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is honoring promises to adopt political reforms, as the US announced a prisoner swap deal with the South American country.

“It looks like Maduro, so far, is keeping his commitment on a free election,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, shortly before the deal was announced.

Venezuela freed 10 Americans and handed over an infamous US defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” in exchange for a close ally and financier of Maduro in a pact that’s part of a broader diplomatic push between the two adversaries.

Biden said he hadn’t spoken directly with Maduro but that the Venezuelan leader was “committed to specific requirements for a democratic election” that the US laid down. 

“He’s agreed to all of them,” Biden said. In the past, Maduro has clung to power by scheduling elections at his will, choosing who he will permit to run against him and barring credible international observers.

The financier with ties to Maduro, Alex Saab, was swapped for Americans including Luke Denman and Airan Berry, two former Green Berets who were jailed on terrorism allegations over a failed 2020 plot to try to overthrow Maduro, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations. The Venezuelan government said in a statement posted on X that Saab had been returned to Venezuela.

Along with the prisoners, the US secured the transfer of Leonard Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” who in 2015 pleaded guilty in a US court in a massive bribery scandal but then removed an ankle monitor and fled to Venezuela. The Justice Department said Wednesday he’s been arrested and returned to the US.

Read more: US Frees Maduro Ally for ‘Fat Leonard’ as Part of Prisoner Swap

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