PARIS: A French citizen who has been detained in Venezuela since late June has been released, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday.
“Camilo Castro is free. I share the relief of his family and thank everyone who worked for his release,” the head of state wrote on the social media platform X.
Castro, a 41-year-old yoga teacher, disappeared on June 26 at the Paraguachon border crossing, which separates Venezuela from Colombia, where he lives.
He had gone to renew his expired Colombian residency visa, his family said in August.
In mid-September, Castro’s mother said she had not received any news from him other than a voice message at the end of July in which he “called for help.”
According to research conducted by his family and Amnesty International, he was being held by the Venezuelan authorities.
Amnesty has denounced what it said was a policy of “enforced disappearances” of opponents and foreign nationals since the electoral authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro winner of a disputed vote in July 2024.
“The Venezuelan authorities appear to be using this practice to justify their narratives about ‘foreign conspiracies’ and as a bargaining chip for use in negotiations with other countries,” it wrote in a report published in July.