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Letter From Venezuelan Jail: 'Give Me Freedom'

Associated Press

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA - A U.S. oil executive jailed for three years in
   Venezuela said all he hopes for is a fair trial so that he can walk
   free with his name cleared and go home to his family in the United
   States.

   In a letter from prison provided exclusively to The Associated Press,
   Tomeu Vadell said it's especially painful to be separated during the
   Thanksgiving season from his wife, three adult children and a newborn
   grandson he's never held.

   "Before living this tragedy, these celebrations were very special times
   for our family," Vadell wrote, saying he embraced the traditional
   American holiday after moving in 1999 from Caracas to Lake Charles,
   Louisiana, for a job with Venezuelan-owned Citgo. "Now, they bring me a
   lot of sadness."

   It's the first time Vadell or any of the other so-called Citgo 6 have
   spoken publicly since being arrested and charged with a massive
   corruption scheme. He's held at a feared Caracas jail called El
   Helicoide.

   Despite his circumstances, Vadell held out hope for a brighter future.

   "During the trial, the truth has proven undeniable," Vadell said in the
   four-page handwritten letter. "It proves that I am innocent."

   2017 meeting

   Vadell, 61, and the five other Citgo executives were summoned to the
   headquarters of the Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA, the parent
   company of the Houston-based Citgo, for what they had been told was a
   budget meeting on November 21, 2017. A corporate jet shuttled them to
   Caracas, and they were told they'd be home for Thanksgiving.

   Instead, a cadre of military intelligence officers swarmed the
   boardroom, taking them to jail.

   Their trial started four months ago and closing arguments took place
   Thursday. That began a wait for the judge's verdict.

   With their arrests, President Nicolás Maduro's government launched a
   purge inside Venezuela's once-thriving oil industry, built on the
   world's largest crude reserves. It later arrested the head of PDVSA, a
   former oil minister and dozens of others.

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