When one or two Americans are imprisoned abroad, the story sometimes makes the news. But it’s more unusual for a large group of U.S. residents to find themselves in a foreign jail. The CITGO Six have been in Venezuelan custody since Thanksgiving Day.
CITGO is a Houston-based oil company that is owned by the Venezuelan government. The six are company executives, most of whom are U.S. citizens. They were convicted and sentenced while in Venezuela.
Paul Takahashi reports on energy and business for the Houston Chronicle. He told Texas Standard that the president of CITGO’s parent company in Venezuela, PDVSA, told the six executives to come to the country for a budget meeting.
“They were promptly arrested at the budget meeting by President Nicolás Maduro’s regime,” Takahashi said.
The men were convicted of corruption and embezzlement.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– How the U.S. State Department has responded
– What family members say about the arrests and convictions
– How CITGO has been caught up in the political turmoil in Venezuela
