Episode 253 Jose Angel Pereira Ruimwyk - From Hero to Villain

Wealth Academy Podcast hosted Jose Pereira, the former CEO of Citgo Petroleum Refining and Gas Corporation. Jose was an executive who was scheduled to return, however he along with five other executives flew to Venezuela for a business meeting, however they were not allowed to leave, and they were detained and held against their will. 

Jose shares his ordeal with listeners and how they had to learn how to cope with being hostages, having not committed a crime, they simply were held because they were American citizens. The fact of the matter is this, Jose and his colleagues were held for five years, which consists of 1,175 days in captivity. The original sentence was from 8-13 years.

For anyone thinking their life is bad, this experience will make you feel as though it pales in comparison. Jose lost 100 pounds during his first year of captivity, they were thrown into a dungeon, and they could not communication with anyone during the first year of captivity. The United Nation's intervened and Jose and his colleagues were given food, however it had to be provided by their families, of which some members left the U.S. to assist with having food delivered from a neighboring country.

They also worked to communicate with family members by sending messages of their condition and for Jose it resulted in 1,000 letters written to his wife over the five-year time frame. After the new U.S. Administration was in place, the State Department began working in the background to free the hostages and it resulted in a prisoner swap after five long years.

The Citgo 6 were released in October 2022. Today Jose advocates for hostage releases from around the world. he is a speaker, author of the book, From Hero To Villain and he delivers coaching to organizations and more importantly he is a survivor with a loving family that stood by his side from day one of his ordeal. He owes his release and that of others to their resilience, spiritual growth, and overcoming adversity and this is part of his coaching program. 

Host Paul Lawrence Vann was honored to interview Jose Pereira and he encourages you to go to Apple Podcasts and rate and review this episode, it is atmosphere shifting. 

Learn more about Jose Pereira at the following website.: https://joseconnect.com