The United States is designating the Venezuelan judge and prosecutor who presided over and prosecuted the November 2020 trial and sentencing of six U.S. persons known as the “Citgo 6.” These Americans have been unjustly imprisoned in Venezuela since November 2017 after being lured to Caracas under false pretenses.
Lorena Carolina Cornielles Ruiz (Cornielles) presided over the trial of the Citgo 6 while Ramon Antonio Torres Espinoza (Torres) was the prosecutor representing the illegitimate Maduro regime. As such, these two officials played critical roles in the kangaroo court trials of each of the Citgo executives. These proceedings were marred by a lack of fair trial guarantees and based on politically motivated charges, and media and human rights groups were denied access to the trials.
These six men and their families have suffered long enough. It is time for Maduro to release the Citgo 6 and let them be reunited with their families.