May 21 (UPI) — A U.S. Air Force veteran detained in Venezuela has been released, according to his family and Trump administration officials.
Joseph St. Clair was freed Tuesday, according to Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s special presidential envoy for special missions and the newly appointed president of the Kennedy Center.
On his X account, Grenell posted pictures of himself and St. Clair boarding a small airplane.
“Joe St. Clair is back in America,” he said.
Grenell on Tuesday met with Venezuelan officials in an unidentified “neutral country to “negotiate an America First Strategy” he said.
Scott and Patti St. Clair, Joseph St. Clair’s parents, confirmed their son’s release from Venezuelan detention in a statement.
“This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it — but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” they said.
Details about St. Clair’s release were not immediately clear.
According to the James Foley Foundation, St. Clair was working in the food services industry in South America when his family lost contact with him in November. In February, the U.S. State Department told his family — who had not heard from him in months — that he had been wrongly detained by Venezuela, the foundation, which advocates for U.S. hostage prevention and release, said.
St. Clair’s release comes after Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats from Washington, called on Trump earlier this month to become personally involved in pressing for the release of the Air Force veteran.
“Each day he is held, it prolongs his suffering, and the suffering of his friends and family,” they said in the letter.
In February, the Trump administration secured the release of six Americans who had been wrongly detained in Venezuela for several months.
