Tomeu Vadell, one of the so-called “CITGO 6” who was detained in Venezuela for nearly five years, is suing the petroleum company that previously employed him for more than $100 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas, district court Tuesday.
The lawsuit accuses CITGO of using Vadell and the other five executives – Gustavo Cárdenas, Jose Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano and Jose Luis Zambrano – as “political pawns.” It also contends that the company “abandoned” the Vadell family.
“CITGO specifically lured Tomeu and the other CITGO executives of Venezuelan-descent to Venezuela as part of a coordinated scheme to maximize their use as political pawns,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also charges that the company “made the unconscionable decision to abandon Tomeu and his family in their greatest hour of need” by refusing to help pay for Vadell’s legal fees and ending payment of his salary in 2018.
The lawsuit said the family is seeking damages for “past and future medical expenses; past and future physical pain and mental anguish; past and future physical impairment; past and future disfigurement; past lost wages and future lost wage-earning capacity; past and future loss of consortium; past and future for loss of companionship; past and future pecuniary loss; and attorneys’ fees.”
In a statement, CITGO said they “disagree with this lawsuit, which irresponsibly equates CITGO, an American company based in Houston, with an authoritarian regime in Venezuela.”
“The CITGO 6 were our senior-most executives, and neither they nor CITGO, the Company they led, are responsible for the arbitrary acts of (Nicolas) Maduro’s repressive regime,” the statement read. “CITGO’s leadership has supported Mr. Vadell and his family in significant financial and other ways.”
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