A fugitive US defence contractor known as 'Fat Leonard' has been returned to face justice in a prisoner swap with Venezuela.
Leonard Glenn Francis admitted to a $35 million bribery scheme in the largest corruption scandal in US military history.
He was arrested and returned by Venezuela, according to US president Joe Biden.
Francis was expected to board a plane “very soon” to the United States, where he is to be transferred to a federal prison. Venezuela is also releasing 10 Americans detained by the government of Nicolás Maduro, Mr Biden said.
In exchange the US has agreed to grant clemency to Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally who was awaiting trial in Miami on federal money laundering charges.
Saab, 51, was arrested last year during a stopover in Cape Verde en route to Iran. His detention has been a key sticking point in negotiations between Washington and Caracas.
The prisoner swap, the largest yet between the Biden administration and the Venezuelan government, comes amid months of negotiations.
The US agreed in October to ease sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry for six months in exchange for promises from Maduro to hold freer presidential elections in 2024.
in addition to the 10 Americans, Maduro is releasing 20 Venezuelan political prisoners as part of an agreement reached in October between the Venezuelan government and opposition leaders.
The senior administration official said Biden made the “extremely difficult decision” to grant clemency to Saab to bring Americans home and to “ensure that one of the most notorious fugitives from justice, Fat Leonard, is returned and held to account for his crimes.”
The 10 Americans included “all six wrongfully detained Americans” in Venezuela, Biden said. He told reporters Wednesday that all 10 were on an aircraft on their way home.
Biden said the United States would hold Maduro’s government accountable for holding fair elections next year.
“It's not over yet,” Biden said. “They’ve made detailed commitments. We’ll see if they hold them.”
