Joshua Holt, the American jailed in Venezuela for two years, is reuniting with his family and will meet President Trump in Washington Saturday night. Holt and his wife, accompanied by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, arrived at Dulles Airport Saturday evening.
Holt called it a “very, very difficult two years … not really the great vacation I was looking for.”
Mr. Trump welcomed Holt in the White House, saying it was a “very tough ordeal.” He said Holt had been through “most people could endure.”
Mr. Trump said there have been 17 prisoners released since he became president. He specially mentioned Egyptian-American charity worker Aya Hijazi, calling her a “fantastic young woman,” and the three men recently released from North Korea.
After welcoming Holt home, Mr. Trump tweeted “WELCOME HOME JOSH!” with a video from the Oval Office.
Mr. Trump welcomed him home in a tweet Saturday morning, after announcing his release, and said Holt would be coming to the White House. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, along with Corker and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, worked to secure the release of Holt and his wife, Thamy.
“Looking forward to seeing Joshua Holt this evening in the White House,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “The great people of Utah are Celebrating!”
Holt was arrested in June 2016, after he had traveled to Venezuela to marry Thamy Caleno.
Caleno exchanged text messages with The Associated Press as she and Holt were traveling. She says that a fellow inmate at their Caracas jail relayed information Friday night that prison officials were discussing their release.
At 10 that night, a warden asked to see them, then every two hours afterward they were awakened to have their pictures taken as part of a heightened security protocol.
The next morning, they were told to pack their things and prepare to go.
It’s the second time in less than a month Mr. Trump has welcomed hostages home, after he helped secure the freedom of three Americans held in North Korea.
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