Citgo Six

The Citgo Six refers to six U.S.-based executives of Citgo Petroleum Corporation (a subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA) who were arrested in Venezuela in November 2017 on corruption charges.

The six individuals, Tomeu Vadell, Gustavo Cárdenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano, José Luis Zambrano, and José Pereira, were lured to Venezuela under the pretense of a business meeting. Upon arrival, they were detained and subsequently charged with embezzlement, money laundering, and conspiracy. The circumstances surrounding their arrest and detention have been widely criticized as politically motivated, particularly given the deteriorating relationship between the United States and the Venezuelan government under Nicolás Maduro.

The case drew significant international attention, with the U.S. government repeatedly calling for their release and denouncing the conditions of their imprisonment. Many observers believed the arrests were a tactic by the Maduro regime to exert pressure on the United States. The executives faced prolonged trials, and their sentences were repeatedly delayed.

After years of imprisonment under harsh conditions, the Citgo Six were eventually released in October 2023 as part of a deal brokered by the Biden administration. This deal involved a prisoner swap between the United States and Venezuela, in which the Citgo Six and other detained Americans were exchanged for Alex Saab, a Venezuelan businessman indicted in the United States on money laundering charges. The release marked the end of a long and complex diplomatic saga, highlighting the tensions between the two countries and the human cost of geopolitical conflict.