Diplomacy, pressure free Ostreicher

Bill Richardson, who served as the governor of New Mexico and the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said a mixture of public pressure and private diplomacy fostered Monday’s return of Jewish contractor Jacob Ostreicher to American soil after he was held captive for more than two years in Bolivia.

“With Ostreicher there was intensive public pressure by many Jewish organizations, it was very effective,” he said.

Richardson—who said he doesn’t “have all the circumstances of [Ostreicher’s] escape” from Bolivia—cited a meeting he had with Bolivian President Evo Morales a year ago as an example of the “quiet diplomacy” he and other key officials engaged in on behalf of Ostreicher.

Ostreicher, a 54-year-old Brooklyn native, traveled to Bolivia in December 2010 to oversee rice production and was arrested in June 2011 on suspicion of money laundering and criminal organization. No formal charges were brought against him, but he spent 18 months in prison before his release on bail in December 2012. He remained under house arrest until he appeared in the United States.

Actor Sean Penn aided in the negotiations for his release. “He’s safe, healthy, very tired but can’t be seen,” said Aron Ostreicher, Jacob’s brother.