Abducted Guyanese boat captain, passenger released from Venezuelan jail

Apr 02, 2026 News

Guyanese boat captain, Frederick Pollard (right), his passenger, Antonio Leboleiro Jose (centre) along with Venezuela law enforcement officer (left) poses for a pic at a bus terminal in Venezuela.

(Kaieteur News) – Seven months after their abduction, Guyanese boat captain Frederick Pollard, 66, along with his passenger, Antonio Leboleiro Jose, 23, are finally on their way back home. The men were released from a Venezuelan jail on Tuesday.

Kaieteur News learnt Pollard’s wife travelled on Wednesday to the Venezuelan State of Miranda to collect the two men.

Pollard and his Venezuelan passenger, Leboleiro Jose were abducted on August 24, last year in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven by a group of armed men who were suspected to be members of the notorious “sindicato gang”.

Family members have been searching for them since then. While others feared the worst, Pollard’s loved ones did not give-up the search.

Their perseverance paid-off in February this year when they received information that both men were alive but were locked-up in a Venezuelan prison located in the State of Miranda, Venezuela.

The men were reportedly imprisoned there since November 2025, some two months after they were abducted.

Reports are that they were locked-up by a Venezuelan-intelligence arm for alleged terrorism.

Pollard’s relatives were happy that he was found alive but immediately began protesting against what they claimed to be wrongful and unlawful imprisonment.

They called for his immediate release claiming that Pollard and the passenger were innocent of the accusations levelled against.

Pollard and Jose shop for some new clothes as they commence their journey home where they will reunite with their loved ones

Relatives even vented their frustration via Facebook posts.

In one of those posts, his granddaughter wrote, “We, his family, demand the return of our loved one, as this procedure was carried outside the framework of the law. Freedom for Freddy.”

In less than a month their protests and activism paid off and Venezuelan authorities reportedly called the families of both men, informing them that they were free to go.

Pollard was reportedly transporting fuel for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in a metal boat when the he was stopped and detained by the armed men along with the passenger. Reports were that they were enroute to “Devil Hole” when they were abducted.

Another boat was stopped by the men and the passengers of that boat recalled seeing Pollard and his passenger detained in a creek on the Venezuelan shore of the Cuyuni River.

Pollard had managed to slip a message to one of the passengers on that boat before the armed men permitted the captain of the vessel.

The message informed his family that armed men had detained the duo. After the message was delivered, the matter was reported to the Guyana Police Force.

The Force in a press release, assured that it had commenced an investigation. Since then, the pair was never seen again and there were no further updates from the Guyana Police Force.

Pollard had, however, made one phone call to his loved ones before all communication was lost. He had told relatives that he was being transported on a motorbike to a location in Venezuela.

Months passed and Pollard’s trail went cold but his family, especially his common-law wife who resides in Venezuela, never gave up the search.

Read previous article: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2026/03/08/abducted-guyanese-boat-captain-found-in-venezuelan-jail/

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abducted, Antonio Leboleiro Jose, Cuyuni River, Frederick Pollard, Guyanese boat captain, Venezuela

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