Jim Wyss, a U.S. reporter working for the Miami Herald, was detained while covering the 2013 elections in Venezuela, reports the BBC. 

What he could not have known then was that he was destined to become – for however briefly –the face of a 2015 Venezuelan tourism advertisement.

The image that was chosen by TeleSur to promote tourism on their Twitter feed displayed a man being hugged and making a face of extreme gratitude. TeleSur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela.

The tagline said, "We love Venezuela for receiving foreigners like one of our own."

Jailed journalist Jim Wyss was that happy man in the ad, and it was a photo of him being welcomed back to the U.S. after his arrest.

Wyss was arrested by military intelligence in the border city of San Cristóbal more than a year ago as he was reporting on contraband taking place along the frontier with Colombia.

Officials at the time said he was detained because the journalist did not have the proper media credentials on him.

As news of the ironic ad spread, the image was taken down.

Wyss was completely unaware his image had been used for the ad until a friend in Venezuela told him about it.

As he explained the oddness of the event to the BBC, he said, "I don't know if it was an accident or if someone in TeleSur has a very good sense of humour."

Wyss conceded in all likelihood it was a mistake: "They pulled it from Twitter and their website, so I guess it was an accident."

The country is in the midst of an official recession and could use tourist dollars.

There have been many opposition party protests as the country tries to stave off an economic collapse partly because of falling crude oil prices.