Venezuela frees seven jailed Americans in swap for two Maduro relatives

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Saturday freed seven Americans, including five oil executives, in exchange for two relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro jailed in the United States on drug convictions, U.S.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that the "wrongfully detained" Americans would soon be reunited with their relatives.

To all the families who are still suffering and separated from their loved ones who are wrongfully detained – know that we remain dedicated to securing their release," Biden said.

It came at a time when Washington is under growing pressure to do more to secure freedom for dozens of Americans held abroad.

Maduro's government said in a statement that as a result of talks that started in March two young Venezuelans "unjustly" held in the United States were freed, as well as a group of U.S.

The freed Americans were all in stable health and "overjoyed to be heading home," while the two Venezuelans were en route back to the South American country, a senior Biden administration official told reporters in a telephone briefing.

authorities had dubbed the "narco nephews," has not altered Washington's policy toward Venezuela, a senior administration official said.

The Biden administration has only slightly eased Trump-era sanctions on Venezuela, saying it will consider more significant steps if Maduro returns to negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition and there is progress toward free elections.

The five employees of Houston-based Citgo, who had been detained in Venezuela in 2017, were Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo and Jose Pereira.

The prisoner handover, the largest since Biden took office in January 2020, occurred in "a country in between Venezuela and the United States" after the men arrived in separate planes, a senior U.S.

"We applaud President Biden for having the courage to make this deal and encourage him and the administration to continue building upon the momentum," said Jonathan Franks, spokesperson for the Bring our Families Home campaign, which advocates for Americans wrongfully held overseas.

At least four other Americans are still detained in Venezuela, including two former U.S.