American oil executives guilty of corruption, Venezuela judge rules

Jesus Loreto, an attorney representing Tomeu Vadell, one of six U.S. oil executives jailed for three years in Venezuela, shows a letter written by Vadell, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. In the letter provided exclusively to The Associated … more >

By
–

Associated Press
–

Updated: 8:12 p.m. on
Thursday, November 26, 2020

CARACAS, Venezuela — A Venezuelan judge found six American oil executives guilty of corruption charges Thursday and immediately sentenced them to prison.

The judge’s ruling came with sentences of more than eight years for each. The so-called Citgo 6 had been lured to Venezuela for three years ago for a business meeting and arrested.

They are employees of the Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.