The United States has demanded the immediate release of former CIDCO executives

The United States on Monday demanded that Venezuela release six former CIDCO oil executives Related to the North American country Were again taken into custody Between Handing over of Nicolas Maduro’s ally to Miami.

“They are political prisoners.”State Department spokesman Nate Price told reporters. “While they have already been unjustly detained in Venezuela for four years on these false charges, they should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Six former directors Sitko, A subsidiary of the state-owned Petraeus de Venezuela (PDVSA) in the United States, is serving a sentence for corruption. They went back to jail this SaturdayAfter being under house arrest since April, prosecutors and relatives informed the AFP.

Jose Pereira RoomwickFormer Chairman and Former Directors of SIDCO Domue Vedel, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cordenas, Jose Luis Zambrano and Allerio Zambrano They were detained, Vessel’s lawyer, Jess Loretto, told AFP.

Six corrupt executives were sentenced to 8 to 13 years in prison, Has been under house arrest since being released from a helicopter in Caracas, the headquarters of Venezuelan intelligence, since April this year.

“They were taken a second time”Veronica Waddell, the daughter of a 60-year-old executive, told AFP.

“My dad told my mom: ‘They’re looking for us,’ and nothing else. He continued not knowing which security system was detaining them.

Arrested after the meeting Handover by Colombian Alex Chop, A close associate of dictator Nicolas Maduro, was accused of embezzling money from Cape Verde to the United States this Saturday.

Calls “Sitko Six” He was arrested in November 2017 and sentenced in 2020, Under opposition from the Washington government.

With the exception of Venezuela, five out of six are of American nationality. The other, PereiraFormer Chairman of SIDCO, Has permanent residence in the United States.

Perera was sentenced to 13 years and 7 months in prison for “deliberate fraud”, “civil servant contract with a contractor” and “association to commit a crime”.“And That too was imposed A fine of $ 2 million, According to Venezuelan justice.

The other five were sentenced to 8 years and 10 months in prison.

This is not the first time the benefit of the home has been withdrawn by the prison. They already gained in 2019 and lost a year later. Now, six months later.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet decided on the arrest of six former directors of SIDCO.

With information from AFP

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