Maduro’s ‘dealmaker’ to face money laundering charges in US

A BUSINESSMAN accused of money laundering for Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s embattled regime was due to appear in court in the United States today after being extradited from Africa over the weekend.

Alex Saab, a Venezuelan and Colombian dual national, is seen as one of Maduro’s top insiders. He is believed to hold the secrets to how the country has been selling gold and oil, despite US sanctions, as well as how Mr Maduro and his associates have siphoned off millions of dollars in government contracts amid an acute economic crisis.

After being targeted for years by US authorities, he was indicted in July 2019 in Miami for money laundering, and arrested during a plane stopover in Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa in June 2020. Following lengthy negotiations, he was finally extradited on Saturday to the US from the African archipelago, US justice officials said.

Mr Saab and his business partner, Alvaro Pulido, are alleged to have moved $350million out of Venezuela into accounts they controlled in the US and other countries, exploiting food aid destined for Venezuela, an oil-rich nation suffering from widespread hunger. They face up to 20 years in prison.

Venezuela’s government reacted furiously, describing the extradition as “kidnapping” and suspending talks with the Us-backed opposition on ending the country’s political and economic crisis. “Venezuela denounces the kidnapping of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab by the government of the US in complicity with the authorities in Cape Verde,” it said in a statement.

But Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is recognised as the country’s acting president by the US and more than 50 other countries, welcomed the move.

“We Venezuelans, who have seen justice kidnapped for years, respect and celebrate the system of justice in democratic countries like Cape Verde,” he tweeted.