The story of the Citgo 6

In November 2017, six executives of the Citgo Petroleum Corporation were arrested in Venezuela on charges of corruption. The men were called to Venezuela under the guise of a company meeting, as Citgo is a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The Venezuelan government have strictly referred to the men as Venezuelan executives and not Americans in part because all six were born in Venezuela; five of the men are naturalized US citizens, and the sixth is a permanent resident. They have been under arrest since 2017 and were likely seized to act as hostages in the standoff between the Venezuelan and United States governments.

The six men have had little to no contact with their legal counsel, families, or US officials. The long detention in Venezuela has subjected the prisoners to harsh conditions. Their families have supported them by sending food, medicine, and money through connections in Caracas. The family members of the men, when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times said that the six men have been living in frightful conditions. Hope was briefly on the horizon for the six late last year, when Venezuelan authorities moved the men into separate private homes and held them under house arrest. Though restrictive, these conditions allowed for better quality of life.

These brief hopes were dashed however when all six men were rounded up and relocated to the Helicoide, a prison known for torture and poor conditions. According to CNN, the State Department does not know the exact reasoning behind this relocation, but lawyers for the prisoners point to the President’s welcoming of Juan Guaido to the State of the Union. The relocation of the men to the Helicoide happened only hours after Guaido was welcomed, returning the six men to hellish conditions. According to the Los Angeles Times, attorney Jason Poblete, representing the families of one of the men, feels that US officials need to make the Citgo 6 more of a priority. There has been little movement on the part of either government towards a release of the prisoners.

There was, however, a sudden development when the Venezuelan government announced that a trial date had been set for the six men. The trial is set to begin on February 19, though this has generated some hope, several such trial dates have been previously set and cancelled at the last minute. Based off of the current tensions between the US and Venezuela, it is likely that these men will continue to remain political prisoners for the foreseeable future.

Joseph Doner - Political Editor