Venezuela wrongfully detained Washington man under Biden — Trump admin bringing him home
A Washington state man held captive in Venezuela for months will soon be reunited with his family after Trump officials intervened in his case.
Joseph St. Clair — a veteran of the U.S. Air Force suffering from what his mother, Patti St. Clair, described as "severe PTSD" — went missing in November during the final weeks of the Biden administration after traveling to Colombia for treatment. Three months later, St. Clair's father, Scott St. Clair, received a call from the Colombian consulate claiming that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime had taken Joseph hostage.
The federal government officially declared St. Clair wrongfully detained.
'We are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.'
"Can you imagine his fear? Can you imagine the isolation that he must be feeling battling his unseen scars in a foreign prison, unsure if help is even coming?" Patti St. Clair said at a "Bring Our Families Home" event in Washington, D.C., in April.
At some point after President Donald Trump retook office, Trump, presidential envoy for hostage affairs Sebastian Gorka, Adam Boehler, and U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell began negotiating with Venezuelan authorities to secure St. Clair's release.
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The talks must ultimately have been successful, because St. Clair was released to Grenell on Tuesday, his family said in a statement.
"This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it — but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude," his parents said in a statement.
Other details regarding his detainment and release remain unclear.
St. Clair served four tours in Afghanistan. He is originally from Hansville, Washington, along the shores of Puget Sound.
St. Clair was one of at least seven Americans detained in Venezuela since Maduro declared victory in a highly controversial election last July. Even the Biden administration questioned the results of the vote, with then-Sec. of State Antony Blinken expressing "serious concerns."
Six others were released back in February after Grenell met with Maduro.
Now that St. Clair has been released, at least 37 American hostages from countries including Afghanistan, Israel, Russia, and Kuwait have been released since Trump's inauguration in January.
"We remain in prayer and solidarity with the families of those who are still being held," the statement from the St. Clairs said. "We will never stop loving and supporting them as they continue their fight to be reunited with their loved ones."
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