Venezuela frees US Air Force veteran considered wrongfully detained, his family says

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A United States Air Force veteran detained for several months in Venezuela was released Tuesday, according to a family statement.

Joseph St. Clair, who the U.S. government has said was wrongfully detained in the South American country, was handed over to U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell. The family said St. Clair, who had served four tours in Afghanistan, was detained in November.

“This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it, but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” St. Clair’s parents, Scott and Patti, said in a statement.

Scott St. Clair earlier this month told The Associated Press his son, a language specialist, had traveled to South America to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Six other Americans detained in Venezuela in the months after the country’s July presidential poll were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Grenell in February.

Grenell, during the meeting in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, urged Maduro to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. Hundreds of Venezuelans have since been deported to their home country.