They are Gustavo Cárdenas, former manager of Citgo, a US subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), sentenced to almost nine years in prison, and Cuban-American tourist Jorge Alberto Fernández.
Nicolás Maduro has released two American political prisoners as a second proof of goodwill after Saturday’s mini-summit in Caracas with the envoys of Joe Biden. Is about Gustavo Cardenasformer manager of citgosubsidiary in the US of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), sentenced to almost nine years in prison, and the Cuban-American tourist Jorge Alberto Fernndezwho was arrested last year in possession of a toy drone.
Both, like the rest of the Americans incarcerated in the sinister prison of the helicoidone of the headquarters of Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin), have become a bargaining chip for the Bolivarian revolution from the first day of their arrest. The Citgo Six, as they are called, were charged with corruption in 2017 and have been in and out of jail ever since. Last year they returned to prison in retaliation for the extradition from Cape Verde to Miami of alex saabthe alleged figurehead of Mature.
The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracywhich defends the directors of citgo, confirmed last night the release of the two political prisoners, both innocent, something that had been expected since Sunday morning. Fernndez, who complained during his confinement of “forgetting” about his case, “was unjustly detained and accused of being a terrorist, simply for carrying a drone,” the coalition denounced. Accusations of corruption fall against the oil directors, aggravated after the US administration ignored the Bolivarian government and opted for the interim presidency of John Guaid.
The other three American prisoners of the revolution are the two former Green Berets luke denman and Airan Berrywho participated in the unsuccessful landing of Operation Geden in 2020. Both denounced torture during their trial, they even recognized their torturers.
The tenth prisoner is the former marine Matthew Heath, who was arrested near the border on charges of preparing attacks against the electrical service. Heath also detailed the torture he received during his detention, including beatings, electric shocks and suffocation with plastic bags.
“These releases only denote the innocence of these citizens and the use of the judicial apparatus at the service of the dictatorship,” denounced the opposition deputy Olivia Lozano.
The first goodwill gesture of Mature after the “thaw” in Caracas is the reactivation of negotiations between the government and the opposition in Mexico, which had Norway as a key government and Russia as one of the facilitators.
in the dungeons of Mature 240 political prisoners remain, three of them of Spanish nationality: Helpful Mara Delgado (wife of a retired military officer of Italian origin), Angela Exposito (representative of an NGO protecting animals) and George Alain (businessman about to serve five years in prison).
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