In an instant. Your life can change. It was a fairy tale story, as American Josh Holt and his wife to be Tammy fell in love from three thousand miles apart. They were just getting home from their honeymoon and everything seemed perfect with one knock at the door. There lives would be altered forever in the middle of the night police from the government of Nicholas Maduro Burst into their home in Venezuela and took them captive. Their relationship turned from a dream to a nightmare from Wonderin chaos, sell the creators of hit podcast cold comes hope in darkness. In this new twelve part series, you will uncover the harrowing story of the two years that Josh and Tammy spent inside a notorious venezuelan prison

an issue for crimes they did not commit from the ways they found to hold on to their last shreds of hope to the tireless efforts of their families, working to get them home. Hope in darkness tells a story of love, lost and irrepressible spirit, you're about to hear a preview of the first episode of hope in darkness, while you're listening be sure to subscribe, to hope in darkness on Apple Plod Cason wherever you're listening right now, as we heard that drivel Sound Bobo, both police officers come into the door June Thirtieth twenty sixteen Joshua hold an american citizen is asleep next to his wife of just two weeks, a market in their apartment in Caracas. Venezuela, and I wake up just a

done being shoved onto my foot, I look up and there was an AK. Forty seven just playing right in my face: I'm thinking, whoa, what's going on, Josh and Tammy, don't know it yet, but they are about to become hostages of the venezuelan government. They will spend most of the next two years and one of the country's most notorious prisons. Acquainted. But in that moment all they know is that something very strange is going down. They said, You need to give us your phone and get ready to come with us. I'm Becky Bruce, and this is hoping darkness the knock at the door over the course of this podcast you'll hear Josh Hotel in his own words what it was like to be locked up abroad on false charges,

Nearly two years are Utah family says their son is sitting in a venezuelan jail after they say he was framed for being a: U S, spy and through other food and swung along Dunwoodie journal. Joshua Uncanny whole Madeira wanted to talk to somebody you want. You can have a better relationship with the United States. I need the help of by people to come and get me and my wife change place with him. I would if I could go there, I would we will address human rights violations, abuse violence and even torture will also trying to make sense out of the complicated relationship between the- U S and Venezuela that led up to the whole to rest. For now we go back to the beginning to understand how Josh and Tammy became pawns in an international game. Venezuela was about the farthest thing from Josh holds mind growing up in a suburb of SALT Lake City. You taught his dad Jason says his.

Personality was evident from the start. Just was a funny kid one story: he got stand on top of a six foot pig event and still the top rail went to jump over cut his foot on the top of it. Filth, face down the gravel and where inside just watch him outside. He looks look around and see anybody just shakes his head burner stood up runaway he's de la stuff, bother him he's always get her seem like Derek is Josh's older brother. We were

I guess he was more crazy and I think that is a good kid linen grew up. He looked forward to becoming a police officer, or maybe even a pilot Shush arrived in Caracas on June, Eleventh Twenty, sixteen and of heard that Venice, whether she is beautiful and I was just really excited- tucked my life about all the different things and we are going to do. I was there on the beaches thousand go to be from Utah, now have only seen so many beaches, my entire life. So a sign of great me, Venezuela, is positioned, a top South America, where the continent with the caribbean, lush green mountains around the city of Caracas, which is separated from the sea by just a short distance palm trees sway along the streets.

Progress is famous for full page everytime, every Sunday, every holiday, the people go to the beach using those present various movies where you have those houses on the hill and I'm just gonna stacked on each other's. What can it looks like we can't see, neither hill it also strict houses and they're all different colours, and so it is you have now known, but was a victory for the next morning. They headed out to the airport for their honeymoon. So you to the airport, probably seven o clock in the morning and our food, It was leaving right around ten. For some reason they weren't, allowing anyone onto the flight arose sitting are waiting in waiting and waiting and finally someone

Cousin tells all of us that the plane was commandeered by the they is. They said that they found the in the in the and Tammy spent the entire first day of Moon waiting around in an airport Josh believes that set the stage for a very close call. Left for the honeymoon a day late, so they came back home a day. Wait too remember we going up the mountain, and I remember all of these motorcycle cops in jeeps and cars is coming down from the mountain. There were ton, there were over. A hundred two hundred police officers

It wasn't just one law enforcement group Josh learned later this was likely the o LP, roughly translated the operation for the liberation of the people are well P, was launched in the summer of twenty fifteen by President Nicolas Maduro. To crack down on a wave of crime in the country is a joint effort involving military and police officials from multiple agencies. A well p is blamed for a number of human rights violations between twenty fifteen and twenty. Seventeen o reported by human rights watch. Witnesses and victims complained about the use of force people being arrested without cause people being kicked out of their own homes and x, humans carried out without due process in the court system, and so this time I don't know anything about this. Just like flowers is crazy, unwashed, because yarly do that sometimes, and so with Chile.

I think anything of it. I didn't really think anything of it. But thinking back to that, I'm thinking about how you know if we were there, if we didn't have that extra day, that we just got there in the airport for. Play, we probably wouldn't taking that night. She woke me up in a dead sleep and see my brains not really processing, and I can just hear the same Joshua Joshua The police are going all the houses and

not really understanding what's going on and that really registering at this point. Josh was still the guy who hoped one day to become a police officer. The idea that the police were the enemy even in another country, with a foreign concept to him above our letter from me now we had the good that drivel, so Bobo Bone police officers come into the door. They asked Tammy if there were any men inside. Yes, she said: can we come in? Of course she goes to the door and she opens it open, There are two police officers staring now, so they come in and they have a guns out nerd. Looking in every single room, they go and look. My daughters

They come into my room in there. I was asleep on the bed and I wake up just a gun being shoved onto my foot. I look up and there was an eighty forty seven just play around my face. The situation was surreal. Pound on the door won't boom boom. She goes and open the door as soon as you turn the doorknob it just barged through the door, and it's not two police officers. This time, three or four, it's upwards of ten police officers, and they all come straight to me right around me circle they have their guns pointed at me. And the first thing that they say to me. You need to give us your phone and get ready is you're coming with us. That was just a preview of hope in darkness be sure to subscribe. To hope in

darkness on apple podcast or wherever you listening right now to hear the rest of episode. One.