Venezuela seizes six American oil executives

Shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó visited the White House, authorities in his home country rounded up a half dozen American oil executives. Family members said government intelligence officers abruptly took the men, who were previously under house arrest, from their homes Wednesday night. Their whereabouts are unknown.

What led to their initial arrest? Masked security agents seized the men, five of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens and one a legal resident and work for Houston-based Citgo, in November 2017 at a meeting at the headquarters of state-run PDVSA, Citgo’s parent company. Authorities charged them with corruption but they are likely being held as political bargaining chips in the country’s ongoing battle with the United States.

Disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned President Donald Trump’s embrace of Guaidó this week. And socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello vowed to retaliate for the White House meeting. Guaidó also was an honored guest at the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Dig deeper: Read Marvin Olasky’s feature on how Venezuelan refugees in Florida describe socialism’s latest failure.