Twenty-four Venezuelans have been freed as part of this week's prisoner exchange deal with the United States, Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday.
The United States announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in exchange for the release of 10 Americans, at least 20 opposition-linked Venezuelans and the extradition of a fugitive Malaysian businessman from the South American country.
The deal, the result of months of negotiations mediated by Qatar between OPEC member Venezuela and the United States, came after the White House said it would need to see progress on prisoner releases in order to continue with energy sanctions relief for Caracas.
The relief was unveiled in October in response to an agreement between the Venezuelan government and the opposition which laid out some conditions for 2024 elections.
Maduro, who celebrated the return of Saab, will likely use the swap to bolster his political strength ahead of those elections, analysts and Biden critics have said.
Saab will now form part of the government's negotiating team at its infrequent talks with the opposition, the lawmaker who heads that team, Jorge Rodriguez, told a press conference on Thursday.
Much of the electoral deal signed between the opposition and the government remains to be implemented, including a provision allowing opposition figures barred from holding public office to appeal their bans.
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