CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Thursday marks two years since six Citgo employees, including a man who lived in Corpus Christi, were jailed in Venezuela.
The so-called "Citgo 6" have been locked-up there ever since. They face charges of stealing from the Venezuelan-government-run company that owns Citgo -- charges their families say are false.
Alirio Zambrano is one of the Citgo 6, and he lived in Corpus Christi at the time of his arrest.
His youngest daughter even graduated from Ray High School while he was locked-up.
His two other daughters have been gathering signatures on a petition that they plan to take to our country's lawmakers demanding their help freeing their fathers.
Middle-daughter Gabriela Zambrano says lots of people from the Coastal Bend have signed.
"The support that Corpus Christi has given to us already is just incredible, and we would just encourage y'all to continue y'all's support. and together we will get this done, and we will get our men home."
The petition is located here: https://www.citgo6coalition.org/
Citgo released a statement today about the Citgo 6.
It read: “November 21 marks the anniversary of two long and excruciating years that our employees have been detained by the (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro regime. We continue to pray for their safety, and for their families as they contend with all of the challenges presented by this lengthy detention of their loved ones. As a company, CITGO believes all human, due process and other legal rights must be respected. We have met with and continue to provide support to each of the detainees’ families including legal expenses, health care coverage and other benefits. CITGO continues to support the U.S. Government’s efforts to secure their release.”
