Venezuela releases 7 jailed Americans; U.S. frees 2 prisoners Venezuela on
Saturday freed seven Americans imprisoned in the South American
country in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicholas
Maduro's wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on
drug smuggling convictions, a senior U.S. official said. The swap of the
Americans, including five oil executives held for nearly five years, is the largest
trade of detained citizens ever carried out by the Biden It amounts to a
rare gesture of goodwill by Maduro as the socialist leader looks to
rebuild relations with the U.S. after vanquishing most of his domestic
opponents. The deal follows months of back channel diplomacy by