The Jedburgh Podcast #147: Hostage Diplomacy: Surviving Venezuelan Captivity - Former Wrongful Detainee Jose Pereira of the Citgo 6
Hostage diplomacy is an ugly game. For decades America’s adversaries have imprisoned US citizens in an effort to leverage diplomatic, economic or military advantage. These cases range from exaggerated charges, to disproportionate penalties, to outright lies. Each case is different. And each case affects both the lives of the incarcerated, their families and ultimately American power.
Jose Pereira was held prisoner by the Venezuelan government for five years. He was the CEO of Citgo and after a Thanksgiving Day meeting in Caracas, he and five other Citgo executives were arrested and charged with bribery, corruption and other false charges. They became known as the Citgo 6.
Jose joined Fran Racioppi to share the story of his captivity, his year long solitary detention in the Submarine, starvation, sickness, sham trials, and his time in a coma. Jose talks about his mental battles with depression and suicidal ideation.
Like all great leaders, Jose sought solutions using the buckets his food was delivered in as a clandestine courier service to exchange letters with his wife. These letters kept him alive, gave him hope and now serve as the foundation to his new book “From Hero To Villain: My True Story of the Citgo 6.”
Special thanks to Hostage US for supporting the families of American hostages and those wrongfully detained, as well hostages and detainees when they return home.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 0:00 Welcome Home
- 3:39 Summoned to Venezuela
- 7:51 Surviving the first 48 hours
- 16:05 Bargaining chips for oil
- 20:09 Smuggling letters in food
- 23:58 The toll on the family
- 28:07 Captive with Green Berets
- 30:24 Prisoner Swap
- 38:47 Hostage Diplomacy
- 41:34 The challenges of coming home
- 45:51 The role of Hostage US
- 49:19 The healing process
- 51:01 Daily Foundations to Success
QUOTES
- For us, Thanksgiving became kind of a nightmare.”
- “Nobody was prepared because this was a sham situation.”
- “They target high profile people because they need to leverage you.”
- “I stayed 10 months in total confinement.”
- “In those containers I found that you could put a double bottom.”
- “Your family is a hostage even worse than you. They are a spiritual and mental hostage.”
- “Bring the American back no matter the tool that you need to use.”
- “You are literally caught in a time machine. You are literally in a cage for five years.”
The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation. Watch, listen or read our conversation from Epigen Technology in Arlington, VA. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.
The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of the guests and the host. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy.