Venezuela Grants US Oilmen House Arrest in Gesture to Biden
Voice of America
MIAMI - Six American oil executives jailed in Venezuela more than three years ago on corruption charges were granted house arrest on Friday in a gesture of goodwill toward the Biden administration as it reviews its policy toward the politically turbulent South American country.
The partial release of the six employees of Houston-based Citgo was confirmed to The Associated Press by lawyers and family members of the men. Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cardenas and Jose Pereira were hauled away by masked security agents during a meeting in Caracas just before Thanksgiving in 2017. They had been lured to Venezuela to attend a meeting at the headquarters of Citgo's parent, state-run oil giant PDVSA. The so-called Citgo 6 were granted house arrest once before — in December 2019 — only to be re-jailed two months later, on the same day that President Donald Trump welcomed opposition leader Juan Guaidó to the White House.This handout picture released by the Canoas City Hall shows people helping to rescue flood victims in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 4, 2024. Beira Rio stadium is flooded after heavy rain in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 7, 2024. A man rows a makeshift boat through an inundated street flooded by heavy rains, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, May 7, 2024. Evacuees ride in a loader after their homes were flooded at Eldorado do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul Brazil May 7, 2024.