Venezuelan National and U.S. Citizen Arrested for Sanctions Evasion and Smuggling in Scheme to Supply Venezuela’s State-Owned Steel Industry

Note: View the criminal complaint.

Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron, 56, of Huntsville, Texas, and Thomas Michael Fortinberry, 51, of Decatur, Alabama, were arrested on June 13, 2025 on a federal criminal complaint charging them with violating U.S. sanctions related to Venezuela, illegally smuggling goods from the United States, and money laundering. The defendants will make their initial court appearances in the Southern District of Texas today.

According to the complaint, Cairo, a Venezuelan national and U.S. lawful permanent resident, and Fortinberry, a U.S. citizen, conspired for years to sell chemical catalysts, industrial equipment, and associated services to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies that are subject to U.S. sanctions. Cairo and Fortinberry’s scheme involved the use of U.S. and overseas front companies that served as intermediaries on shipping documents, foreign bank accounts that moved money into and out of the United States, and other activities designed to conceal the fact that the goods and services were destined for sanctioned entities.

As alleged, from at least 2022 through the present, Cairo and Fortinberry — at times acting through companies that they owned or controlled such as DRI Reformers and Reformer Technologies — sold millions of dollars’ worth of catalysts, industrial equipment, and related services to the Venezuelan steel company Complejo Siderurgico de Guayana S.A. (COMSIGUA), which is owned by the Venezuelan government and is subject to U.S. sanctions. Cairo and Fortinberry used Chinese suppliers to ship the catalysts or industrial equipment directly from China to Venezuela, and in at least one instance, they shipped the goods from the United States to Venezuela. As part of their scheme, Cario and Fortinberry also transferred millions of dollars between bank accounts in the United States, Spain, and China — in transactions involving companies based in China, Germany, and Spain — all for the purpose of continuing their sanctions evasion scheme, and to conceal the true parties involved.

If convicted, both Cairo and Fortinberry face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the sanctions and money laundering violations, and 10 years in prison for the smuggling violation. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Adam P. Barry and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Mark McIntyre and John Marck for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani provided substantial assistance.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.