The US has released an ally of Venezuela's president in a swap for jailed Americans, the AP learns - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

45% : Maduro's government has argued that Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat, entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution under international law.
44% : Saab's release would be seen as a major concession to Maduro, an authoritarian leader who is himself the target of a $15 million U.S. reward for anyone bringing him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
44% : Maduro's government has insisted Saab was traveling to Iran to buy food and medical supplies when he was detained in Cape Verde.
43% : Saab, 51, was pulled off a private jet during a fuel stop in Cape Verde en route to Iran, where he was sent to negotiate oil deals on behalf of Maduro's government.
40% : The charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to a bribery scheme that allegedly siphoned off $350 million through state contracts to build affordable housing for Venezuela's government.
40% : Saab was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly running a scheme that included Maduro's inner circle and stole hundreds of millions in dollars from food-import contracts at a time of widespread hunger mainly due to shortages in the South American country.
34% : The most notable prisoner exchange came last December when the U.S. government, over the objections of some Republicans in Congress and criticism from some law enforcement officials, traded Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.