A harrowing new podcast premieres this week from Podcast distributor Wondery. The true story series ‘Hope In Darkness: The Josh Holt Story’ comes via producers KSL Podcasts who were behind the hit show ‘Cold’. It will be hosted by Becky Bruce and features in-depth interviews with the subject of the story Josh Holt. The show will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and all major platforms.
As the story goes, in 2016 Josh flew to Venezuela to marry Thamy, their plan was to return to the US shortly after. However just two weeks after Josh got married to Thamy, while waiting for their visas police raided their house in Caracas in the middle of the night. Four days after spending their honeymoon on Margarita Island in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, they were in prison. What followed was a 2-year nightmare in a notorious prison that only ended after a huge effort from their families, legal team and two presidential administrations of the US government.
From news reports documenting the story at the time we know a little bit about the case but the show aims to take us behind the scenes and reveal the full story. The pair were arrested on June 11, 2016, for weapons charges and accused of conspiring against the Venezuelan government after police allegedly found assault rifles and other military items. Holt, a US Citizen from Utah was their main target and his wife was jailed as an accomplice.
The incident ended on May 26th 2018, the shows official premiere comes on the 2 year anniversary of their release and return to the United States. Both Barack Obama and Donald Trump had been personally involved in its resolution. Holt was used as a bargaining chip during tense diplomatic talks between the US and Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government under the leadership of Nicolas Maduro pushed the story that Holt was an American spy sent to the country to cause further unrest during the countries violent uprising. The show’s description and trailer reveal the couple endured punishment and torture during their time in the prison. We can expect to hear the details of the efforts made to get them released, how the couple survived and the hardships and difficulties they endured.
The series will feature 12 episodes in all. It comes from Wondery who’ve helped create critically acclaimed true crime shows such as Dirty John, Joe Exotic, Dr. Death, Man In The Window and many more of the top-charting true crime shows. You can subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast app via the links below.
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