San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Navy scandal figure still in Venezuela
A Venezuelan Supreme Court justice ruled in mid-october that fugitive defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis, better known as “Fat Leonard,” would be set free from Venezuelan custody if the United States did not request his extradition within 60 days.
The clock on that deadline was to start once Venezuela's foreign affairs ministry notified U.S. officials of the judge's decision. Though it's unclear when that notification occurred, it's likely the two-month deadline has passed.
As of Friday, there was no word from officials in either country about where things stood with Francis.
The 57-year-old Malaysian national was arrested in September by Interpol agents at the Caracas international airport, about two weeks after he fled the San Diego mansion where he was on house arrest. Captured in 2013 during a sting operation in San Diego, he pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing Navy officers and defrauding the U.S. out of at least $35 million as the mastermind of a massive corruption scheme.
He was released from pre-sentence custody on a medical furlough in early 2018 and remained on house arrest until Labor Day weekend, when he cut off his GPS monitor and fled to Mexico. Interpol officials said he then traveled to Cuba and Venezuela, and had planned to travel to Russia.
Francis has sought asylum in Venezuela, while officials in the U.S. have remained mum on how he was so easily able to escape.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond this week to questions about Francis, but a spokesperson previously told the Union-tribune that the agency “generally does not comment on extradition-related matters until a defendant is in the United States.”
Officials from Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to messages seeking comment.
In the months since his capture, there have been several twists in the tense relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela that could influence what ultimately happens to Francis.
Most recently, Venezuela's opposition legislature voted Friday to terminate its interim government, ending Juan Guaidó's leadership. For years the U.S. recognized Guaidó as the nation's leader instead of its actual president, Nicolás Maduro. With Guaidó out of the picture, the U.S. could once again recognize Maduro's authority, helping to ease tensions.
Earlier in December, a federal judge in Miami rejected attempts by Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro, to shield himself from money laundering charges by claiming diplomatic immunity. Maduro's government has repeatedly and loudly demanded Saab's release.
In November, the Biden administration eased some oil sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to boost renewed negotiations between the government and opposition party. And in October, Venezuela freed seven imprisoned Americans in exchange for the U.S. releasing two nephews of Maduro's wife who had been jailed for years on narcotics convictions.