Inside the remarkable story of how an American man was freed from jail in Venezuela with the help of a senator’s backchannel and a man known as ‘Dracula’

Alex Brandon/AP

• American Joshua Holt was released from a Venezuelan prison two years after arriving in South America to marry a Mormon he met online.
• He was surprisingly released after GOP Senator Bob Corker arrived in Caracas and newly reelected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro handed Holt over.
• Corker’s Latin American aide was assisted by a Venezuelan governor known as “Dracula” who patrols his state in a Batmobile-like vehicle and was reportedly involved in money laundering.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A secret backchannel led by a veteran Republican Senate staffer and a flamboyant Venezuelan official nicknamed “Dracula” broke through hostile relations between the two governments to secure the release of American prisoner Joshua Holt, who traveled to the South American country for love and ended up in jail, without a trial, for two years.

A week ago the chances of Holt’s long ordeal ending any time soon looked slim.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Venezuela was Latin America’s richest country and now it is in complete crisis — here’s how it fell apart

See Also:

• ‘I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude’: An American man jailed in Venezuela for 2 years has finally arrived back in the US
• Stacey Abrams wins Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary, becoming the state’s first woman nominated for governor by any major party
• Congress to review ‘highly classified’ information on the Trump Russia investigation on Tuesday

SEE ALSO: These photos of prison cells around the world show how differently countries treat their criminals

DON’T MISS: The US is hitting Venezuela with more sanctions to stop ‘smash-and-grab’ behavior