Venezuela releases three Dutch prisoners; Will return to Netherlands quickly

The Dutch government confirmed the release of three of its citizens who were being held in jail cells in Venezuela. Caretaker Foreign Minister David van Weel said the three were released late on Thursday. They will leave the country as quickly as possible under escort provided by the Dutch embassy in Caracas, Van Weel confirmed before the regular weekly Cabinet meeting on Friday.

The authoritarian regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro ended almost two weeks ago, when he and his wife were captured by U.S. military forces and transported to the United States to face criminal charges. Since then, dozens of political prisoners, and other incarcerated people, have been released in the South American country.

The three Dutch detainees were not initially among those released. A spokesperson for the ministry would not comment on the reason the three were imprisoned, but sources told Trouw two of them were part of a nine-person crew searching for World War II wreckage near the Dutch Caribbean in an attempt to recover copper material.

All nine were intercepted by Venezuela's Navy seven months ago, and transported to that country on charges of espionage. The captain of the crew is a Dutch man, and his wife was among those imprisoned. There have been no published reports about the identity of the third person.

Van Weel said he personally advocated for their release in a phone call with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. The Dutch embassy "had also been pursuing this for a while," the minister said. "And finally, the regime has now said, okay, these three can go as well."

His remarks on Friday were the first confirmation by the ministry about the fate of Dutch detainees in the country. Van Weel already indicated on Monday that he spoke with Rodríguez, who was serving as vice president when she took charge of the country after Maduro was ousted.

Van Weel wrote on social media on Monday to say the two had a productive conversation, and there was "progress" on issues important to both countries, including the release of foreign prisoners. He also emphasized the importance of "keeping our communication channels open."

Venezuela is the largest country to border the Caribbean island nations and territories of the Dutch Kingdom. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao are all just a few dozen kilometers north of the Venezuelan coast.

On Wednesday, a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil docked in Curaçao as part of a plan by two of the world's largest commodities companies to move Venezuelan oil to storage facilities in the Caribbean. The Trafigura Group and the Vitol Group were expected to take possession of at least 4.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil this week, Bloomberg reported earlier.

The oil is part of a large sale of more than 50 million barrels organized by the U.S. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that four tankers were off the Venezuelan coast, with plans to bring crude oil to storage facilities in Curaçao and the Bahamas.