One of the ten Americans released from Venezuela as part of an exchange with South American nationals held in El Salvador is the perpetrator of a triple murder.
El Pais detailed that the man in question is Dahud Hanid Ortiz. His identity was confirmed by Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, which warned that he was not a political prisoner.
The State Department did not confirm to the outlet whether Ortiz was taken to a U.S. prison upon arrival to the country. Images published by media outlets showed him smiling and holding a flag along with other people released as part of the agreement.
El Pais noted that Ortiz was born in Venezuela and served in Iraq after getting U.S. citizenship. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Venezuela in January last year for killing three people in Madrid in 2016. He had escaped to the South American country after the crime and arrested there two years later.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not single out Ortiz when celebrating the release of the ten Americans. "Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland," he said.
The prisoner exchange took place last Friday and involved the return of 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador's maximum security prison CECOT in exchange for the 10 Americans held in Venezuela.
Diosdado Cabello, Justice Minister in Venezuela's authoritarian government, said when discussing the exchange that "we handed over some murderers for you."
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