France secures release of French-Chilean national held in Venezuela

PARIS: France's government on Sunday announced the release of a French-Chilean national who had been held for four months in Venezuela. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, posted on X that Camilo Castro was being flown back to France.

He credited French diplomacy for having obtained Castro's release from prison.

In a separate post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed relief that Castro was free. "France sometimes advances quietly, but always with determination and composure: That is how we protect our own," Macron wrote. Castro lives in Colombia and went missing in June after he crossed into neighboring Venezuela in what the 41-year-old yoga teacher hoped would be a quick there-and-back trip to extend his Colombian visa, according to Amnesty International.