U.S. not negotiating new Venezuela prisoner swap despite appeal, say U.S. officials

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators of the "Free Alex Saab" movement participate in a rally in front of the National Assembly of Venezuela demanding the release of Saab, a Colombian businessman with Venezuelan ties who was extradited to the U.S. on a charge of money laundering, in Caracas, Venezuela December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

WASHINGTON/CARACAS (Reuters) - The United States is not discussing a prisoner exchange as described in a letter and video appeal addressed to President Joe Biden by an American detained in Venezuela, according to two U.S. officials.

Eyvin Hernandez was "quite possibly coerced" into appealing to Biden to swap him and seven other U.S. detainees for Alex Saab, a Colombian-born businessman facing trial in Miami, said one of the U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.