Venezuela sought to swap Americans for Maduro ally

By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Knowledgeable sources and message exchanges reveal that Venezuela’s government quietly offered last year to release imprisoned Americans in exchange for the U.S. letting go a key financier of President Nicolás Maduro. A person involved says the offer was discussed at a previously reported meeting in Mexico City last September between a top Maduro aide and Richard Grenell, a close ally of former President Donald Trump. The offer was rejected by the Trump administration, but it has taken on new relevance following the extradition this month to Miami of businessman Alex Saab, who prosecutors believe was the main conduit for corruption in Maduro’s inner circle.