‘TOUGH ORDEAL’

Utah Man Freed From Venezuela Prison ‘Overwhelmed With Gratitude’

Joshua Holt says he endured a “very, very, very difficult two years” in Caracas.

A Utah man freed from Venezuela’s most notorious prison said Saturday at the White House he was “overwhelmed with gratitude” for those who secured his release. Joshua Holt said he endured “a very, very, very difficult two years” in Caracas. A Mormon missionary who’d traveled to Venezuela in 2016 to meet the woman who would later become his wife, Holt was jailed on suspicion of being a U.S. spy and stockpiling weapons. Just a week before his release, he posted a video on Facebook begging for U.S. authorities to save him as a prison riot played out behind him. U.S. lawmakers held months of backchannel negotiations to secure Holt’s release, with Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) traveling to Caracas on Friday for a surprise meeting with Venezuela’s president.