Miami, FL – May 16, 2025.
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed with prejudice all federal claims brought by three Venezuelan nationals who alleged a coordinated campaign of defamation, intimidation, and racketeering in connection with their purported advocacy related to PDVSA and its U.S. subsidiary, CITGO. The plaintiffs—Ivan Freites, Miguel Enrique Otero, and Jorge Alejandro Rodriguez—claimed that Horacio Medina, President of PDVSA Ad Hoc, along with various individuals and organizations, engaged in a smear campaign aimed at discrediting them and undermining related litigation in Delaware. However, the Court found the complaint to be a classic example of an impermissible “shotgun pleading,” marking the plaintiffs’ fourth failed attempt to assert their claims. The Court further ruled that the plaintiffs failed to allege any valid predicate acts to support their RICO claim, including witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and extortion. This outcome reinforces that U.S. courts will not permit the misuse of legal proceedings to advance unfounded allegations involving PDVSA Ad Hoc and members of the Venezuelan opposition.
Mr. Medina was represented in the litigation by Michael Diaz, Marta Colomar, Javier Coronado, and Gábor Gazsó von Klingspor of the Miami-based international law firm Diaz Reus.
