• The swap took place at an airport in a third country that was not named.
• US officials said that five American oil executives took part in the trade.
• President Joe Biden said that the Americans who were “wrongfully detained” would soon be able to see their families again.

Seven Americans who were in jail in Venezuela were set free in exchange for the release of two relatives of President Nicolas Maduro, the two countries confirmed.

US officials said that five American oil executives took part in the trade.

Two of Mr. Maduro’s wife’s nephews, who were serving 18-year drug sentences in the US, were given in exchange for the Americans, officials said.

Venezuela said that two men who were being held in the US “unfairly” were let go.

It also said that “humanitarian reasons” led to the release of some US citizens.

US officials say that the swap involved people from Citgo, a Venezuelan oil company with offices in the US, as well as a US Marine veteran named Matthew Heath and another US citizen named Osman Khan.

Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, and Jose Pereira, who worked for oil companies, were sent to jail five years ago after being called to a meeting in Caracas where they were charged with terrorism.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said that the Americans who were “wrongfully detained” would soon be able to see their families again.

“Today, we’re happy that seven families can be together again. To all the families who are still suffering and can’t be with their loved ones who are being held wrongfully, know that we are still working hard to get them out “he added.

In exchange for letting them go, Mr. Biden agreed to free two nephews of Cilia Flores, the first lady of Venezuela.

Franqui Flores and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores were arrested in Haiti in 2015. They were then taken to New York, where they were found guilty of drug charges.

In a statement, the government of Venezuela said, “Two young Venezuelans who were wrongfully jailed in that country have been set free.”

A US official said that the swap took place at an airport in a third country that was not named.

The US has said for a long time that Mr. Maduro runs a left-wing dictatorship.

But the Biden administration has just sent diplomats to Venezuela to start talking again. Critics say that the invasion of Ukraine and the US’s desire to become less dependent on Russian oil led to the change in policy.

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