A U.S. citizen was transferred to the United States after being detained in Venezuela for nearly six months.

The family of U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St Clair was released Tuesday after being detained in November.

"This news came suddenly and we were still dealing with it, but we were overwhelmed," St. Clair's parents Scott and Patti said in a statement.

President Donald Trump's special mission envoy Richard Grenell later explained on social media that he had met with Venezuelan officials on Antigua to negotiate the release.

Grenell attributes St Clair’s freedom to Trump’s “America No. 1” political platform.

"Joe St. Clair is back in the United States," he wrote. "I met Venezuelan officials today in a neutral country to negotiate the U.S. first strategy. This is possible because (Trump) put Americans first."

Reuters quoted anonymous sources familiar with the negotiations, reporting that Grinnell discussed the case of St. Clair on Tuesday with allies of Venezuelan National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez and Nicolas Maduro.

Reuters and another news agency, Bloomberg, reported a deal to extend the license to US oil company Chevron, which will operate in Venezuela for 60 days.

The Trump administration had previously announced it would revoke its permit in February because Venezuela did not uphold its commitment to a fair election. The license is scheduled to end on May 27.

Any extension may require approval from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Treasury Department.

South American countries rely on oil as the backbone of their economy. But since the mid-2010s, Venezuela has encountered an economic crisis that has even pushed basic supplies such as food and medicine to something that families can afford.

According to the United Nations, this combined with the so-called political repression has prompted Venezuela to leave Egypt.

In 2023, Venezuela is committed to electoral reforms under the Barbados Agreement, which is appreciated. Then-U.S. President Joe Biden relaxed restrictions on Venezuela's oil industry after the agreement.

But Venezuela's presidential election on July 28, 2024 has been widely criticized for its lack of transparency. Although Maduro and his allies claimed he won the third term, the election authorities provided no evidence of victory.

Instead, the opposition coalition issued a vote, saying its candidates had won an overwhelming victory. This has sparked widespread protests and deadly crackdowns from law enforcement.

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump launched a "maximum pressure" campaign to the Maduro administration, and even provided a $15 million bounty to obtain information that led to the arrest of the Venezuelan leader.

But critics point out that Trump may need Venezuela's cooperation to achieve his goal of "massive deportation" in his second term.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has expressed his willingness to negotiate with Maduro. In late January, he even sent Grinnell to meet Maduro in person in the capital of Caracas. Part of the Glennell Directive is to ensure that all Americans in detained in the country return to their hometowns.

When Grenell left the country, he revealed that he was returning with six Americans who had been imprisoned in Venezuela.

In March, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio estimated that nine Americans remained in Venezuela.

Venezuela has already begun accepting flights deported from the United States, although it has refused to accept immigration evacuated from the United States in the past.

St Clair’s family said the veteran is a language expert who is seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in South America.