An avid water-sports fan and a U.S. Navy sailor are among the 10 U.S. citizens and permanent residents imprisoned by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government who were released Friday in a prisoner swap, according to a nonprofit that has worked with their families. In exchange for the Americans, more than 250 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. in March and flown to El Salvador’s high-security “counterterrorism” prison were sent home to Venezuela.

Here’s what to know about the freed Americans, whose identities were confirmed by the nonprofit Global Reach.

Lucas Hunter

Hunter, a 37-year-old U.S.-French dual citizen, was on a windsurfing trip and motorcycling through Paraguachón, Colombia, near the border with Venezuela, in January when Venezuelan guards coerced him into crossing, his family wrote on a website created for him. Officials then detained him, the family said.

Advertisement

“My family and I are so happy to hear that my brother, Lucas, was released by Venezuela today,” said Sophie Hunter, Lucas’s sister, in a statement Friday from Global Reach, which works to bring home Americans detained abroad. “We cannot wait to see him in person and help him recover from the ordeal.”

“We are grateful that President Trump has made this issue a priority for his team,” Sophie added.

Sophie Hunter previously told The Washington Post that she and her brother had planned to travel to Colombia together but that she canceled last minute because she was ill. He never intended to enter Venezuela, she said.

His family said their last contact with him before Friday was through a voice memo to Sophie on the morning of Jan. 8. In the months after his detention, the family called on the White House to bring him home.

Advertisement

“We miss him every day,” Susie Hunter, Lucas’s aunt, said in a video message to Trump posted to YouTube last month. “Please finish the job and bring Lucas home safe. I know you’re the only who can.”

Lucas Hunter has been passionate about water sports since teaching them to others as an instructor in Hawaii, his sister said. His family wrote on their website that he is “kind, fun, happy, and full of life.”

Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez

Castañeda, a former Navy SEAL, was arrested in his Caracas hotel room on Aug. 28 while visiting a friend, according to the statement from Global Reach.

Castañeda’s brother, Christian Castañeda, said Friday that their family had “prayed for this day for almost a year.”

“My brother is an innocent man who was used as a political pawn by the Maduro regime,” Christian Castañeda said in the statement.

Advertisement

According to U.S. Navy records, The Post previously reported, Wilbert Castañeda has been enlisted since 2007 and is ranked as a petty officer first class. He was in Venezuela for personal travel and not for government business, U.S. officials have said.

He was assigned to a Naval Special Warfare unit as of September, a U.S. official said, according to The Post’s previous reporting. In his statement Friday, his brother said Castañeda experienced several traumatic brain injuries during his military service.

“We knew that President Trump would not leave a decorated SEAL behind,” Christian Castañeda said. “We are just glad that he is out and able to receive the treatment and help he deserves, and will be able to celebrate his upcoming 38th birthday with his family in freedom.”