The six men were arrested just before Thanksgiving in 2017. They had been called for a last minute meeting in Venezuela. Once in the conference room at the PDVSA headquarters in Caracas, armed, masked security agents arrested the men.
The families were perplexed when they learned about the arrest after Venezuela’s chief prosecutor announced it during a press conference. Since their arrest, the men had been held in the basement of Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency under conditions that . At one point, 60 people shared a space meant for 22, lights were kept on 24 hours a day and they were allowed outdoors for 20 minutes every six to eight weeks.Vice President Mike Pence had called for the release of the men after meeting with relatives of the imprisoned men, citing concerns about their health.