Florida officials are warning drivers of “potentially widespread fuel contamination” impacting gas stations across the state's west coast as residents brace for Tropical Storm Idalia’s expected landfall later this week.

One of the six oil executives with a Texas-based company who was imprisoned five years in Venezuela is suing his company for $100 million.

Former Citgo employee Tomeu Vadell and his family filed a $100 million lawsuit on Tuesday in Harris County court against Citgo Petroleum Corporation, claiming he was used as a political pawn and abandoned by the company during his five-year incarceration and torture in Venezuela.

The CITGO 6 are finally home and former CITGO Interim President Jose Pereira is sharing his life-altering experience.

The hurricane season is here and can, unfortunately, be notorious for endangering the safety and health of those in vulnerable communities, including low-income families in Houston.

Houstonians are always lending a helping hand. On Saturday, volunteers, sponsors, CITGO, and Energy Transfer teamed up with Interfaith Ministries and Meals on Wheels to help those who are homebound.

The daughter of an imprisoned Citgo executive feels a renewed hope her father and his colleagues will soon be released. On Monday, one member of the so-called ‘Citgo 6′ was released from a Venezuelan prison following negotiations between the U.S. government and President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.

Six American oil executives jailed in Venezuela more than three years ago on corruption charges have been granted house arrest in a gesture of goodwill toward the Biden administration as it reviews its policy toward the politically turbulent South American country.

(Posted on Twitter by Jorge Arreaza/Venezuela's Foreign Ministry via AP File)The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan judge and prosecutor behind the conviction on corruption charges of six American oil executives. The six employees of Houston-based Citgo were lured to Caracas just before Thanksgiving in 2017 on the pretense of attending a business meeting. “The United States remains committed to protecting its citizens and targeting those who contribute to the illegitimate Maduro regime’s usurpation of power in Venezuela.”The six men are Tomeu Vadell, José Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cardenas and José Pereira. “We just spent a fourth Christmas without our loved one, Tomeu,” the Vadell family said in a statement. “It’s sad to see more suffering come of all this, but these sanctions are in direct consequence of the judge and prosecutor condemning innocent men and prolonging their hostage-taking.”

A Venezuelan judge recently found six oil executives guilty of corruption charges in a case that began in November 2017. Family members of the former Citgo executives were stunned by the verdict and vowed to continue fighting for the men’s release. In the letter, Zambrano appeared optimistic the trial would show none of the men did anything wrong. (KPRC)Forseth said a single judge rendered verdict and punishment at the conclusion of a trial where access was tightly controlled. We continue to pray for them and their families and hope for a resolution that will lead to their prompt release.

(Courtesy of John Pereira via AP)CARACAS – The family of a Houston-based Citgo oil executive convicted and ordered to prison in Venezuela alongside five others appealed directly to President Nicolás Maduro on Friday for mercy. “Our purpose for this letter is not to enter into legal tirades about the case,” the letter says. The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. Judge Lorena Cornielles, who oversaw the trial, did not respond to a letter from The Associated Press seeking permission to observe. Pereira's family said in the letter that he suffers from at least seven chronic health problems including diabetes and back trouble that requires surgery.

Jesus Loreto, an attorney representing Tomeu Vadell, one of six U.S. oil executives jailed for three years in Venezuela, shows a letter written by Vadell, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. The so-called Citgo 6 are employees of Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. Despite his circumstances, Vadell held out hope. With encouragement from his family, Vadell broke his silence, taking a risk relatives said was necessary. During his 35-year career with PDVSA and Citgo, Vadell ended up running a refinery in Lake Charles and then became vice president of refining.

HOUSTON – A murder investigation is underway after police said a man was found shot in a truck at a southeast Houston gas station Wednesday night. Investigators said the man was found at a Citgo on South Loop East and Broadway around 8:45 p.m. According to officers, the victim was transported to a trauma center while CPR was in progress but was pronounced dead. As of now, police said they have no suspects and say they aren’t sure if the man was shot at the gas station or somewhere else and then drove to the gas station.

MIAMI An American oil executive jailed in Venezuela has been out of contact with relatives and attorneys for nearly a week and his family fears he could be suffering from the coronavirus. Since then, his lawyers and family have been unable to obtain information about his whereabouts, said John Pereira. His fellow cellmates who worked under Pereira at Citgo told loved ones that guards on Wednesday removed Pereira's clothes and medicine from the Caracas prison where the men are being held. The other men who remain jailed in Caracas' famed Helicoide prison are Tomeu Vadell and brothers Alirio and Jose Luis Zambrano. The Maduro government in June released photos and video of the men in orange prison garb exercising and appearing in otherwise good health.

HOUSTON A man was fatally shot after a meet-up went wrong at a gas station in northwest Harris County Sunday night, deputies said. Deputies said the shooting happened at the Citgo at 15050 West Rd. at around 11:53 p.m.Detectives said the shots were fired in the parking lot of the gas station and investigators are reviewing surveillance footage while trying to the track the killers. This is a developing story.

HOUSTON – The average cost of a gallon of gas in Houston on Friday was $3.33. But some stations around town sold regular gas for 17 cents less. The following three stations sold gas for less on Friday, according to www.GasBuddy.com. Citgo, West Bellfort Avenue near Barrington Place Drive in Sugar Land: $3.16Shell, Tomball Parkway near Beltway 8: $3.19Murphy USA, Sawdust Road near Grogan's Mill in The Woodlands: $3.24More Information: