Businessman arrested over Maduro ties

MIAMI — Authorities in Cape Verde, Fla., have arrested on a U.S. warrant a prominent businessman accused of corrupt dealings with President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Venezuela.

Alex Saab’s American lawyer, Maria Dominguez, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment.

A source familiar with the situation said Saab was detained on the Atlantic Ocean archipelago when his plane was making a refueling stop on a flight between Caracas and Iran. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

As the Trump administration seeks to regain momentum in its faltering campaign to oust Maduro and install opposition leader Juan Guaido, it is increasingly going after top officials and businessmen connected to the embattled leader. In March, it indicted Maduro and more than a dozen other individuals on narcoterrorism, corruption and other criminal charges.

Saab, a Colombian businessman, came onto the radar of U.S. authorities a few years ago after amassing a large number of contracts with Maduro’s government.

Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted him and a business partner last year on money laundering charges connected to an alleged bribery scheme to develop low-income housing for the Venezuelan government that was never built.