Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro, a former employee of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), has filed a civil lawsuit against Nicolás Maduro’s criminal enterprise in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accusing the company of kidnapping, torture, wrongful termination, and harassment against him.
The complaint alleges that Nicolás Maduro Moros, Iván Hernández Dala, Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), and others collectively form the aforementioned criminal enterprise led by Maduro.
The plaintiff describes the human rights abuses— including torture and illegal detention— suffered by him and his family, which were allegedly orchestrated by Maduro’s regime, government officials, and the Venezuelan state oil company.
Zárraga Lázaro also charges organized crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering, while pointing out that Maduro’s criminal enterprise operates internationally through the Cartel de los Soles, adversely affecting him. The plaintiff seeks compensation for damages, claiming that the defendants’ actions violated international and U.S. laws.
The Plaintiff
Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro, a 59-year-old petroleum engineer, worked for over thirty years at the Cardón refinery of PDVSA and was a labor leader with the Unidad Federation of Oil Workers (SUTPGEF). He warned several times about the deplorable state of the state-run refineries in Falcón. This, along with a photograph taken with Juan Guaidó, made him a target of attacks from Maduro’s criminal enterprise.
Challenging the Chavista narrative on the oil industry’s condition led to accusations against him of espionage and terrorism, resulting in his arrest on November 14, 2020, when officers from the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) took him from his home in Coro.
He was linked to Operation Gideon and accused of providing national security information to American John Matthew Heath, who was later exchanged for the narcoterrorists Cilia Flores’ nephews — Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efraín Campo Flores — during Joe Biden’s administration. However, Zárraga Lázaro had to endure more than three years before being released.
The Lawsuit
On June 13, 2025, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro, who accused Nicolás Maduro Moros, Iván Hernández Dala, Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), and John Does 1-10 of crimes including abduction, wrongful termination, torture, and illegal harassment as part of a targeted campaign against him by the defendants— Maduro’s criminal enterprise.
This lawsuit was submitted with a filing fee of USD 405, but Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro applied to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning he requested exemption from the fee due to financial difficulties. The assigned judge, Eduardo I. Sánchez, denied the request on July 18, 2025, and on August 7, 2025, the plaintiff submitted an amended motion to proceed in forma pauperis, correcting any deficiencies in the original motion.
On the same date, the magistrate allowed the case to proceed, but did not order the U.S. Marshals Service to notify the defendants, so this will presumably be the plaintiff’s responsibility.
Nature of Action and Central Allegations
This civil lawsuit for abduction, wrongful termination, torture, and illegal harassment claims that Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro was targeted with “false allegations of espionage and terrorism due to his perceived connections with detained ex-U.S. Marine Matthew John Heath, accused in Operation Gideon.
After being kidnapped from his home, Zárraga was tortured by armed security agents, forced into confessions, and arbitrarily detained for over three years without a fair trial. His wife and daughter also suffered “extreme fear, anguish, and intimidation” and were “threatened at gunpoint.”
The Maduro regime is accused of maintaining a “widespread pattern of repressive dissent, catastrophic economic collapse, and the regime’s reliance on illicit activities to cling to power.” Both the dictator and Tareck El Aissami — who was the oil minister at the time of the events — are identified as “high-ranking officials described under U.S. law as the ‘Cartel de los Soles’,” a criminal organization trafficking cocaine and narcotics.
Moreover, the regime purportedly “systematically silences and terrifies anyone who exposes their crimes or disloyalty,” as well as committing serious abuses against human rights, including torture, arbitrary detention, kidnapping, and terrorism.
Maduro’s Criminal Enterprise
The defendants, members of Nicolás Maduro’s criminal enterprise — the Cartel de los Soles — include the de facto president of Venezuela, who, along with a cabal of high-ranking officials, represses to maintain power through a pattern of terrorism, drug trafficking, violent human rights abuses, and corruption.
Iván Hernández Dala, commander of the DGCIM, the agency whose agents kidnapped and tortured Zárraga; Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, former Minister of Oil and Economic Vice President, who, according to eyewitness accounts, personally ordered Zárraga’s abduction in 2020 as part of a fabricated conspiracy; PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company involved in the abduction and subsequent reprisals against him due to his union activities and perceived disloyalty; and the Ad Hoc board of PDVSA recognized by the U.S. in 2019 are being sued to ensure that PDVSA is an appropriate entity. The plaintiff does not allege that the Ad Hoc board members perpetrated the unlawful acts. John Does 1-10 are agents of the DGCIM, PDVSA security officials, and others directly involved in the home kidnapping, torture sessions, and other acts against the plaintiffs.
Maduro’s Regime: Repression and Narco-terrorism
Guillermo José Zárraga Lázaro has denounced PDVSA’s corruption as well as its involvement in “drug trafficking and money laundering operations” involving PDVSA assets. He was arbitrarily terminated in May 2019 and unjustly detained in 2020.
In November 2020, Venezuelan authorities escalated their reprisals against Zárraga, involving him in a “fabricated espionage conspiracy.” On November 14, 2020, DGCIM agents stormed his home in Coro, beaten him up, bound him, and took him away. The DGCIM also ransacked his house, taking his belongings.
At DGCIM’s headquarters in Caracas, known as “Basement 2,” Zárraga was subjected to “systematic and cruel torture, inhumane and degrading treatment,” which included “repeated beatings, punches, and blunt force strikes, resulting in severe pain.” He was also subjected to asphyxiation tactics and sensory deprivation.
The defendants — Maduro’s criminal enterprise — designed and executed a sabotage plan to incriminate Zárraga by accusing him of conspiring with Matthew Heath, a former U.S. Marine, to sabotage Venezuelan oil refineries. Prosecutors fabricated evidence to support these accusations.
Zárraga Lázaro remained “imprisoned without trial” between 2021 and 2022, and in 2023, he received a lengthy prison sentence that was “fixed behind closed doors.” His detention lasted “approximately three years.”
Impact on Zárraga’s Family
His wife and teenage granddaughter were direct witnesses to the violent incursion into their home on November 14, 2020. They have suffered “profound emotional stress, the memory of that night and the subsequent uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and physical impact that will endure to this day.”
The Zárraga family suffers psychological trauma, nightmares, and anxiety, as well as years of uncertainty and distress. Their reputation has been tarnished by false accusations. The plaintiff was released from prison on December 20, 2023.
Foundations of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit is based on several U.S. laws, namely the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA), the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), and the Florida Anti-Terrorism Act.
The defendants — Maduro’s criminal enterprise — are not entitled to sovereign immunity, as the alleged acts constitute “terrorism” and “serious human rights abuses.”
Furthermore, the actions of the defendants are alleged to represent a widespread pattern of kidnapping, arbitrary detention, and torture to intimidate the population and silence criticism.
The charges include:
Conspiracy to Commit Organized Crime (Maduro’s criminal enterprise) involving drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, and corruption.
Defamation charges for publishing false statements labeling Zárraga as a terrorist and spy.
Injuries and Damages Requested
Asphyxiation, musculoskeletal injuries from beatings, and stress-related conditions. He also suffered intense pain and severe emotional suffering, as well as economic losses.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, triple and statutory damages (under RICO and the Florida Anti-Terrorism Act), and punitive/exemplary damages.
A declaratory and injunctive relief is also sought to prevent the defendants from alienating PDVSA assets (including CITGO shares) and to secure and satisfy any judgment that may be issued.