Bruce Dick, lead pastor at Bethel Evangelical Free Church, said the three men and one woman were released Saturday morning after being in custody since Wednesday. U.S. Embassy Press Director Glenn Guimond said the missionaries boarded a plane out of the country and would not be allowed back for two years.

It was unclear why the missionaries had been detained, and Dick said he couldn't comment until he spoke with them. He said they flew to Aruba, where they planned to rest for at least a day.

Relations between the U.S. and Venezuela have been deteriorating. Earlier this month, President Nicolas Maduro accused the U.S. of working with local opposition groups in an attempt to stage a coup that involved bombing the presidential palace. Washington called the accusation ludicrous.

The pastor said the missionaries were taken Wednesday from Ocumare de la Costa, a small coastal town where they have been working to establish a church, to the city of Maracay. He couldn't say what they were questioned about.

A local Venezuelan pastor with whom the group often works was detained with the four missionaries, Dick said.

The missionaries were treated well, Dick said, adding that they were able to keep their cellphones and send text messages and make brief phone calls to loved ones.

"They didn't fear for their lives or anything. It was just question after question," he said.

The group has worked with a partner church in the city of El Limon since 2002, Dick said, and they've been making efforts for several years to establish a church in Ocumare on their annual trips.

Dick said the group's mission is solely service-oriented.

"We like to say that we're there to serve," he said. "We don't make any political issues whatsoever."

___

Associated Press writer Hannah Dreier in Caracas contributed to this report. (**)

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