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(REUTERS) – A U.S. citizen who had been detained for months in Venezuela is back in the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump envoy Richard Grenell said on Tuesday, after the freed man’s family said he had been handed over to U.S. authorities.
“Joe St. Clair is back in America,” Grenell said in a post on X, adding he had met Venezuelan officials in “a neutral country” earlier in the day to negotiate.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Venezuela Information Minister Freddy Nazareth Nanez said in a message to Reuters that Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair had been released to Grenell on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
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Grenell had met there with Jorge Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela’s ruling party-allied legislature, two sources told Reuters.
“This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it – but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” St. Clair’s parents said in a statement.
The family’s statement said St. Clair had been wrongly detained in Venezuela since November 2024.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the White House.
The sources said Grenell had offered to extend by 60 days the wind-down period for a license allowing U.S. oil company Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab to operate in the country. It had been set to expire on May 27.
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Bloomberg originally reported the meeting and Grenell’s offer on Tuesday, citing a single, unnamed source.
The 60-day extension would need to be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department.
If granted, the extension would not necessarily lead to the resumption of its exports of Venezuelan oil to the U.S.
Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA canceled cargoes to the company in April over payment uncertainty, a situation that has not been resolved. Chevron must pay royalties, taxes and a portion of its joint ventures’ operating expenses in Venezuela in order to get access to crude cargoes.
Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the possible extension.
Grenell in January returned from a meeting with Maduro in Caracas with six American citizens, who had been held in Venezuela.00:48Members of Mexico City mayor’s team killed in shooting
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Reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas and Marianna Parraga in Houston, additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Timothy Gardner in Washington Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Sarah Morland Editing by Sandra Maler
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Wow, Antigua playing a quiet but important diplomatic role here.
Antigua turn handover point now? Big moves gwan behind the scenes.
Mi never expect dat—Antigua in the middle of US-Venezuela business?
Yuh see how quiet dem keep it? By time we hear, it done gone through.
Did this involve Antigua’s foreign ministry directly? Curious about the logistics.
Grateful this didn’t turn into any kind of international drama.