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RIVERTON — The family of a Riverton man jailed in Venezuela said Tuesday that a high-ranking official with the U.S. State Department plans to meet with that country's president on his behalf.
Tom Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, will be meeting with Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro about Josh Holt very soon, said the Utah man's mother, Laurie Holt.
The news gives the family hope.
"That's huge," Laurie Holt said.
Josh Holt was arrested June 30 after law enforcement in Venezuela claimed he was stockpiling weapons in his Caracas apartment. He had recently married a Venezuelan woman, Theresa Caleno, who was also jailed for allegedly acting as his accomplice.
His family disagrees, as do multiple U.S. elected officials, including Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, who last month referred to Josh Holt as one of Venezuela's "political prisoners." His mother believes a grenade and assault rifle were planted in the apartment to incriminate her son.
Josh Holt's situation since that time has been dire, according to his family. He has suffered from respiratory problems, kidney stones and significant weight loss while in jail, Laurie Holt said. He was recently turned away from a medical appointment that his family had been fighting for because doctors said he didn't have the right papers with him.
"He waited in the waiting room for two hours, and the doctor came out and said, 'You don't have the right paper work,' so they took him back to the jail," Laurie Holt said Tuesday.
She is troubled by her son's failing health, saying "his cough is really severe, and I don't think that will go away."
Shannon's upcoming meeting with Maduro, however, gives her hope.
"I just need it to be over," Laurie Holt said of her son's ordeal. "I just really need it to be over right now."
For Laurie Holt, the past couple of months have been a struggle. She says she can hardly bring herself to walk into her son's old room.
"My heart is just full now with pain all the time, and it doesn't go away," she said.
Josh Holt had just recently married Caleno, whom he had met online when she worked with him to improve his Spanish. He traveled to Venezuela on a tourist visa in June to marry Caleno.
Josh Holt's family is holding a fundraiser Saturday, with the proceeds going toward legal fees on his behalf. It will be held at Riverton City Park, 1452 W. 12800 South, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include raffle drawings, bounce houses and a car show.
