U.S. reporter says turns up in Venezuela ad campaign despite 2013 arrest

CARACAS (Reuters) - An American reporter briefly arrested in Venezuela in 2013 said he has unwittingly turned up in an ad promoting the South American country. Bogota-based Miami Herald correspondent Jim Wyss was detained for two days near the border with Colombia in November 2013 for not having a journalist visa. So he was taken aback this week when a friend pointed out a picture of him on the Twitter feed of state-funded broadcaster Telesur alongside a big heart and the caption, "We love Venezuela ... for receiving foreigners like their own." The picture, according to a copy blogged by Wyss (http://tinyurl.com/ofvacga), showed him hugging a colleague at Miami airport right after his release from Venezuela. "I really hope someone in Telesur had a wicked sense of humor, but I fear it's just a mistake," said Wyss, laughing, on Friday. "I think it's hilarious. It brightened up an otherwise gloomy day in Bogota." Reuters could not independently confirm the authenticity of the image, and a spokesman for Telesur had no immediate comment. Wyss said the photo was apparently pulled on Friday morning. (Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Toni Reinhold)