Venezuela releases Citgo Six to house arrest: Update

Adds US State Department comments.

The government of Venezuela ordered house arrest for six former senior executives of national oil company PdV's US refining subsidiary Citgo who had been in local prison since November 2017.

"After more than two long years, this development is welcome news, and an important step in the journey towards reuniting these men with their families," Citgo said today. "As a company, Citgo will continue to pray for their safety and well-being and supports the US Government's efforts to secure their full release."

The executives were arrested in Caracas more than two years ago for participating in an alleged debt refinancing scheme. Days after their detentions, former oil minister and PdV chief executive Eulogio Del Pino and another former PdV chief executive Nelson Martinez — both veteran oilmen — were also arrested. Del Pino is still behind bars. Martinez, who also previously served as Citgo chief executive, died in custody late last year.

The former Citgo executives had been living and working in Houston when they were flown back to Caracas on a corporate jet just before their detentions. Their release into house arrest has raised speculation about what residences they would occupy, since they were not living in the Venezuelan capital. Five of the men are naturalized US citizens.

The "Citgo Six", as they came to be known, included Citgo acting president Jose Angel Pereira and board members and vice presidents Tomeu Vadell, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano and Jose Luis Zambrano.

Their release comes nearly a year after the US dropped recognition of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in favor of Juan Guaido, the National Assembly speaker whom most Western countries now deem to be the country's interim president. Citgo's administration is controlled by Guaido's parallel government, even though PdV remains in Maduro's control.

The US imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in late January 2019, with the objective of forcing Maduro out of power, but the strategy has so far failed to unseat him.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports of the men's move to house arrest and reiterated a call for their immediate release.

The detainees have not had "any semblance of a fair and transparent judicial process," a State Department official said. "We are gravely concerned with the welfare and safety of these and other US prisoners in Venezuela and are closely monitoring these cases. We call on the former Maduro regime to respect all human rights, including the rights of those in detention."

The US embassy in Caracas temporarily suspended all consular services in March 2019. Staff were transferred to a new Venezuela Affairs Unit in Bogota.