VENEZUELA’S supreme court confirmed sentences of up to 13 years and seven months in prison for six former executives of Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of the Latin American country’s state oil company.

The Citgo 6 – five Venezuela-born American citizens and one with US permanent residency – have been held in Venezuela since 2017, accused of corruption.

Their detention has further strained relations between Venezuela and the United States, which has repeatedly demanded their release.

Though there is no official link, they were detained a few hours after the extradition from Cape Verde to the United States of Alex Saab, considered an important power broker and close to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose regime has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and authoritarianism.

The case has been viewed by some as retaliation for the transfer of Saab, whom the United States accuses of money laundering.

Yesterday, the court confirmed the sentence of former Citgo president Jose Pereira, who has been convicted of embezzlement, at 13 years and seven months.

He also has to pay a fine of US$2 million (RM8.4 million), equivalent to 40% of the value of the property involved in the crime, the court said in a press release last night.

It also confirmed sentences of eight years and 10 months each against the five other former executives: Tomeu Vadell, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cardenas, Jose Luis Zambrano and Alirio Zambrano.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know what the decision says, but I can say that I can’t imagine a coherent and legal argument that would confirm a sentence riddled with very serious and alarming violations of the law and the most basic notions of justice,” Vadell’s lawyer Jeses Loreto told AFP.

In October, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Citgo 6 were being held “as political pawns”.

“Having already spent four years wrongfully detained in Venezuela on these specious charges, they should be immediately and unconditionally released,” he said. – AFP, February 5, 2022.