WASHINGTON-- The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Wednesday on two Venezuelan officials for their roles in sending 6 American oil executives to prison on corruption charges.
Those penalized by the United States federal government consisted of a judge, Lorena Carolina Cornielles Ruiz, and a prosecutor, Ramon Antonio Torres Espinoza, for their involvement in a court case that led to six officials from the Houston-based oil company Citgo being sentenced to prison for eight to 13 years, the Treasury Department stated.
American government authorities said the executives-- the so-called Citgo 6-- were "unjustly put behind bars" in Venezuela, and were made subject to an unfair trial that was slammed by the news media and human rights groups for its lack of transparency.
" The unjustified detention and sentencing of these 6 U.S. individuals even more demonstrates how corruption and abuse of power are deeply embedded in Venezuela's organizations," the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said in a statement. "The United States remains dedicated to safeguarding its residents and targeting those who contribute to the illegitimate Maduro routine's usurpation of power in Venezuela."
As an outcome of the sanctions, the United States will freeze any property and assets that Judge Cornielles and Mr. Torres have in the United States, the Treasury Department said, though it is unclear if either of them have any.
Agents from Citgo decreased to comment.
The Treasury Department's actions are the most recent turn in a long-running saga over the arrest of the six Citgo employees. The Houston company is owned by Venezuela's state-controlled oil business, PDVSA.
In 2017, 6 men-- Gustavo Cárdenas, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Jose Zambrano and Jose Angel Pereira-- were summoned to a last-minute organization meeting in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and jailed shortly after arrival by armed and masked guard.
The men were charged with embezzlement related to an offer that would have refinanced Citgo bonds worth as much as $4 billion, which the Venezuelan federal government stated did not have approval from the proper authorities in President Nicolás Maduro's administration. The proposition was never executed, and all 6 have actually stated they are innocent.
The males's households have actually informed American news outlets that they were being held in inhumane conditions and have suffered severe weight-loss during their detention. 5 of the men are Venezuelan-Americans with roots in Texas and Louisiana. One is an irreversible U.S. citizen, according to report.
Two of the men-- Mr. Cárdenas and Mr. Toledo-- have actually been released on home arrest in Caracas since July, after previous Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and a group of arbitrators made a humanitarian visit to Venezuela on their behalf.
In August, weekly trials started being held for the 6 men. In November, Judge Cornielles bied far a judgment that found the men guilty of corruption. Five were sentenced to 8 years and 10 months in prison, while one was sentenced to 13 years.
Efforts for many years by the United States government to secure the release of the males have been unsuccessful. The case is simply among lots of points of stress in between Mr. Maduro and the Trump administration, which acknowledges the opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the rightful leader of Venezuela.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday that Judge Cornielles and Mr. Torres "played vital functions in the kangaroo court trials of each https://rotherhamandbarnsleylibdems.org.uk/about-us/ of the Citgo executives." He included that their court procedures were "were marred by an absence of fair trial guarantees and based upon politically inspired charges."
In 2017, Mr. Maduro's administration had actually said that the arrests of the six executives were required actions to rid the country's oil market of corruption. His administration likewise arrested the head of PDVSA, a previous oil minister and a string of others as part of his purge of the nation's once-thriving oil trade.