SITREP Pod: Free Tomeu Vadell, American held in Venezuela | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY

American citizen, Tomeu Vadell from Louisiana has been wrongfully imprisoned in Venezuela since November 2017. He was arrested while on a business trip in Caracas with five of his American colleagues. All six men worked for US oil company, Citgo. Collectively, they’re known as the Citgo 6.

The US government has publicly stated that the Citgo 6 are unlawfully detained. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and current US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both called for their unconditional release. Their families believe they are being held as bargaining chips to extract concessions from the United States. This would be hostage diplomacy.

We spoke to Tomeu’s daughter, Veronica Vadell Weggeman in September 2021 to find out what happened to him and what we can do to help. Five months later, there have been worrying developments.

On this episode, we have the honour of speaking to Veronica Vadell Weggeman once again. She talks to us about recent developments affecting her father and the rest of the Citgo 6, what the US government specifically President Biden, the State Department and Congress need to do, how Tomeu and his family have been coping, better support needed for families of American hostages and wrongful detainees as well as what journalists and the American public can do to help bring the Citgo 6 home.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Tomeu Vadell, please check out the following:

• Our previous episodes: Ep 3, Ep 8
• Free Tomeu Vadell website
• Veronica Vadell Weggeman's Twitter account
• Social media hashtag: FreeTomeuVadell

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