Voice of America
28 Nov 2020, 16:05 GMT+10
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - The family of a Houston-based Citgo oil executive convicted and ordered to prison in Venezuela alongside five others appealed directly to President Nicolas Maduro on Friday for mercy.
In an open letter, relatives of Jose Pereira, 63, wrote to Maduro that Pereira has a long list of health problems that need medical attention.
They ask for Maduro to free him - and the other five - so they can return home to their families in the United States.
"Our purpose for this letter is not to enter into legal tirades about the case," the letter says. "We only want to implore to your humanitarian and compassionate side."
The letter came a day after the Thanksgiving Day verdict finding all six guilty of corruption charges. They've been held for three years in Venezuela.
In a statement Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The United States unequivocally condemns the wrongful convictions of the Citgo 6," and that "these six individuals should be immediately returned to the United States."
The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA. They had been lured to Venezuela in November 2017 for a business meeting and were arrested.
In addition to Pereira, the others convicted were Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, brothers Jose Luis Zambrano and Alirio Zambrano, and Tomeu Vadell - all now U.S. citizens. The judge sentenced them to eight years, 10 months.
They were also charged with financial crimes stemming from a never-executed proposal to refinance some $4 billion in Citgo bonds by offering a 50% stake in the company as collateral. Maduro at the time accused them of "treason." They all pleaded innocence.
Jose Pereira, a permanent U.S. resident, had been promoted to interim Citgo president shortly before the arrest. He received the longest sentence of 13 years.
"We ask solemnly and respectfully that you intercede in our case," they asked Maduro. "So we can achieve freedom for these six men and allow them to return home to their loved ones."
Relatives say the men were wrongly convicted, and the defense lawyers vowed to appeal verdicts.
Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice announced the verdicts and prison sentences, but officials in Maduro's government have not commented on the trial's outcome.
Get a daily dose of Houston Mirror news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Houston Mirror.
More InformationU.S. retail giant Target saw its revenues rise 21 percent year-on-year to $28.34 billion in the quarter ending in January, ...
AUSTIN, Texas: Aviation and aerospace company SpaceX is expanding its presence to align with global demand by setting up a ...
GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Volvo targets to only manufacture electric cars by 2030 by significantly increasing the size of its U.S. South ...
CUPERTINO, California: Apple announced on Monday that all 270 of its store locations in the U.S. have officially opened for ...
Zoom Video Communications' fourth-quarter results trumped forecasts of moderate growth following its meteoric rise in 2020, with revenues surging 369 ...
BENGALORE, India: The Covid vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech has been found to be 81 percent effective, in an analysis ...
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - The volatile islands of Iceland have experienced unusual seismic activity in the past week, with over 18,000 ...
Yemen's Houthi rebels have carried out missile and drone strikes on a Saudi military base and an oil facility, expanding ...
BERLIN, Germany: In a change of policy, Germany has announced it will begin vaccinating those over 65 years-old, while recommending ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Compromising with moderates, President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed to tighten the requirements for those eligible to receive ...
ANN ARBOR, Michigan: Some 375 University of Michigan students have been banned from entering school buildings because they have not ...
PARIS, France: The French government will not require residents of the Paris region to be locked down this weekend. However, ...