Driving the news: As part of the deal, a former U.S. Navy contractor who organized one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history was arrested and returned to the U.S.
Leonard Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," pleaded guilty in 2015 to doling out more than $500,000 in bribes in exchange for the ability to overcharge the Navy by at least $35 million for his services.
He escaped house arrest in San Diego in 2022 after cutting his ankle monitoring bracelet.
Details: In exchange for the prisoner releases and Leonard's extradition, the U.S. let go of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was accused of stealing $350 million as part of a bribe scheme against the Venezuelan government.
The U.S. has also accused him of being a financial fixer for Maduro.
Saab was arrested on money laundering charges in Cape Verde in 2020 while he was on his way to negotiate an oil deal with Iran as a representative of Maduro's government.
In response to Saab's extradition to the U.S. in 2021, Venezuela's government called off political negotiations with opposition officials and placed six U.S. oil executives under house arrest." MS
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