Venezuela on Saturday released seven jailed Americans, including five oil executives, in exchange for the release of two relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, US officials said.
The Malaysian businessman removed his monitoring anklet and escaped house arrest in the United States earlier this month ahead of his impending sentencing.
Venezuela received 12 crew members of a plane that was captured in Argentina in June.
Pilot's son says ‘issue is under the control of the United States, the Zionist regime, and the Jews who are present in...Parliament’
Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations inspected the plane on Thursday afternoon.
The unannounced arrival of the plane in Argentina on June 8 sparked weeks of intrigue as well as concern within the Argentine government over its ties to Iran and Venezuela.
A Venezuelan cargo plane bought from Iran is the latest piece in the IRGC's smuggling enterprise.
Approaching the 28th anniversary of the Buenos Aires AMIA Jewish Center bombing
Five passengers were suspected of having ties to the IRGC, and their passports were confiscated. One has now been confirmed as a member of the Quds Force.
Tehran already sells drones to Caracas and together, the countries work as a kind of anti-Western authoritarian axis.