The American Gustavo Cárdenas, part of the group of six former executives of the Citgo oil company, was reunited with his relatives in Texas after being released from a Venezuelan prison on Tuesday.

Cardenas arrived at his Houston home around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday after flying overnight from Caracas accompanied by a senior State Department official, who was one of Joe Biden's envoys to negotiate the release of U.S. prisoners in Venezuela, according to The Associated Press.

In a statement sent to the news agency, Cárdenas said that, although he celebrates with his family the end of a long "nightmare", he prays for the release of his five colleagues who are still under arrest and "deserve the same blessing."

"My imprisonment of more than four years has caused a lot of suffering and pain, much more than I can express in words," he added. "I was released from prison and regained my freedom after approximately 1,570 days of wrongful detention. It was a very difficult time marked by deep pain, but also by faith, hope, love, and survival."

The executive's wife, Maria Elena Cardenas, said during an interview with Telemundo Houston that she still could not believe that her husband had returned home to his family.

"We are so happy. We didn't sleep all night," she said. "I still can't believe I'm here."

Mrs. Cardenas said she had read news reports that her husband had been released, but it was not until Tuesday night that she received official confirmation from the U.S. government that Cardenas was already on a flight to Texas.

Cardenas received a medical examination after his release and appeared to be in good health, said Mrs. Cardenas. However, he was underweight after spending more than four years in Venezuela on corruption charges.

Two U.S. citizens released

"We welcome the release of U.S. citizens Gustavo Cardenas and Jorge Alberto Fernandez, who had been unjustly detained in Venezuela," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed in a statement.

The text states that the United States continues to press for the Venezuelan regime to release all U.S. citizens unjustly detained in that country. 

Cuban-American Jorge Alberto Fernandez was detained in February 2021 in the state of Tachira, bordering Colombia, after being accused of terrorism. He was also released on Tuesday shortly after Cardenas.