Oil executives imprisoned five years in Venezuela sue former employer Citgo for $400 million

MIAMI (AP) — Two Citgo oil executives detained for nearly five years in Venezuela have sued their former employer for more than $400 million. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Houston alleges the company conspired to lure brothers Alirio and Jose Luis Zambrano to the South American country under a false pretext and then abandoned them as they endured horrendous prison conditions for crimes they didn’t commit. The lawsuit comes as a federal court in Delaware is overseeing the auction of Citgo to satisfy nearly $21 billion in claims by creditors who have gone unpaid since the U.S. stripped control of the company from President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The Zambranos were among five Citgo executives freed in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap.