December 30th, 2020

Jose Pereira

In this month’s hostage spotlight, we will shed light on Jose Pereira; an individual who is being illegally held by the Venezuelan government. Just a couple of weeks ago, Jose’s wife, Mervis, celebrated their 35 years of marriage on her own. This has been the third anniversary she has spent without her husband. Mervis is not the only one feeling his absence, his three kids and grandchildren are all feeling it as well especially now with the holidays.

Jose was the former CEO of CITGO Petroleum. He completed his Masters in Business Administration and has held several managerial positions prior to his job at CITGO. Jose was captured 3 years ago. He and five other employees of CITGO were asked to attend a company summit in Venezuela. On November 21, 2017, as Jose and his five colleagues were finishing up a presentation for the company, Venezuelan authorities charged in and arrested all six employees under false charges. The family of Jose was unaware of this incident until the media reported it. Jose and his colleagues were kept in a military base unit in Venezuela for two years and in the first 45 days they were not allowed to have any outside contact, not even with their lawyers. We spoke with Jose’s eldest son, John, who explained to us how their past 3 years have been a terrifying roller coaster and they don't know when this nightmare will come to an end. They do not know the exact details of their father’s health but they do know that he is not being treated justly as he has lost a significant amount of weight and is not allowed outside his prison cell, not even to see sunlight.

Jose’s family has been struggling for the past three years while dealing with their father’s detainment. The stress and anxiety has taken a toll on all of the children especially John’s sister, Sara. She has been experiencing depression as a result of this traumatic experience and has had to put a hold on her college education. Jose’s salary has been suspended during this time and the family is using their retirement savings to stay afloat. Jose’s eldest son, Joao, has even welcomed a baby last year who may never see or meet his grandfather. The emotional stress that Jose’s family is going through at this time is affecting their lives immensely and recovering from this trauma will not be easy, especially if their father’s health and future is deemed unknown.

Jose, his wife, and daughter are all proud U.S. residents. Jose is passionate about spending time with his family and is known by all his colleagues as a friendly, outgoing, and hard working man. His family and friends have been working tirelessly doing the best they can to bring him back home. It’s been 3 long years and the family has now gone through another Christmas without their loved one. Jose is one of many hostages spending the holidays away from his family this year. Jose can be any American traveling for business in another country. We ask you to help us raise awareness on this issue and especially on Jose’s illegal detainment so we can fight to bring him back home to his family.