Venezuela on Saturday announced it had freed seven Americans in exchange for the release of two Venezuelan citizens by the United States. The U.S. confirmed the swap on the same day.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said two young Venezuelans "unjustly" held in the U.S. were freed, and seven U.S. citizens were released on humanitarian grounds.

Caracas did not release the names of the two Venezuelans.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the "wrongfully detained" Americans would soon be reunited with their family.

Among the seven Americans released were five executives of Houston-based Citgo Petroleum and one former marine.

The five executives had been detained in Venezuela since 2017 on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. A Venezuelan court found them guilty and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years in 2020.

The prisoner transfer took place at an airport in an unspecified third country, following months of secretive talks between the two governments, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The freed Americans were all in stable health and "overjoyed to be heading home," while the two Venezuelans were en route back to the South American country, another U.S. official told reporters in a telephone briefing, according to Reuters.

Rising energy prices have put the U.S. and European countries under great pressure, with Washington easing the sanctions it has slapped on some oil-producing countries.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on March 7 that he met with a visiting senior U.S. delegation at the presidential palace on March 5. In late June, he confirmed a number of senior U.S. officials had visited the country.

An increased flow of Venezuelan oil to world markets could help replace some of the Russian supplies hit by international sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, experts told Reuters.

Read more: 

Maduro meets U.S. officials over oil, but little progress towards deal

Venezuela says U.S. sanctions causing emigration spike

(Cover: Carrying a Venezuelan national flag, people march in support of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro as they protest against U.S. sanctions in Caracas, Venezuela, August 23, 2019. /CFP)