The six men – five US citizens and one permanent resident, and all employees of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) – were detained in November 2017 after being called to Caracas from Houston for a meeting. President Nicolas Maduro went on television to denounce them as “traitors”, saying: “They’re properly behind bars, and they should go to the worst prison in Venezuela.” Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late president, was appointed company’s new president. For 16 months, the relatives of the Venezuelan Americans, who have become known as the Citgo 6, were advised to remain silent.
