An East Bay man is one of 10 American prisoners who were released and on their way home Wednesday as part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuela.
Nearly two months since Savoi Wright’s trip to Venezuela turned into his captivity, the 38-year-old is on his way home back to Oakland.
“The thing that Savio is guilty of in this case is falling in love with Venezuela,” said Jonathan Franks from the organization Bring Our Families Home.
Wright was known to travel to the country to visit friends. Franks works to free unlawfully detained Americans in other countries and said Wright's homecoming comes only after he was held for ransom.
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“They actually put him into a status called ‘enforced disappearance.’ That means the government takes somebody and disappears them off the face of the map,” said Franks. “That is what the Venezuelan government did to Savoi Wright.”
The Venezuelan government accused the mortgage loan officer of being a money launderer, but never filed any charges.
According to his family, supporters raised more than $20,000 in an effort to bring him home.
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In a statement, Wright’s family said in part, “These past few months have been some of the most difficult of our lives, and we are relieved that this ordeal has ended. We are grateful to the U.S. government for bringing Savoi home so quickly…”
“We dodged a bullet with him, right? He only got arrested 50 something days ago, and he is coming home today,” said Franks. “That’s a miracle. He came home with people that had done significantly more time, some of them in significantly harsher circumstances.”
Wright was one of 10 American prisoners freed in exchange for the return of a close ally of the Venezuelan president.
This marks the largest release of American prisons in Venezuela's history.
“We have secured the release of every American being held in Venezuela. In addition to that, Venezuela thus far is keeping their commitment toward the democratic election. It's not over yet, they have made detailed commitments. We will see if they hold them,” said President Joe Biden.
As Wright and nine others return to American soil, Franks says their detention should serve as a warning to others.
“One thing that folks can take away from this is, when the government puts a level 4 travel warning on a place, that means don’t go,” said Franks.
