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Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a former businessman and close associate of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was arrested in the Latin American country on Wednesday as part of a joint operation between the US and Venezuela, according to a US law enforcement official.
Saab, 54, who was previously held in the United States, is expected to be extradited to the United States in the coming days, a US official told Reuters.
On Wednesday, the Colombian newspaper El Espectador quoted Saab’s lawyer, Luigi Giuliano, as calling the arrest “fake news.” Journalists associated with the Venezuelan government also denied in social media posts that Saab had been arrested.
Giuliano told Venezuelan news site Talkual that Saab could appear in person to refute the arrest allegations, but was consulting with the government about what had happened.
Venezuela releases all known US detainees following Maduro’s arrest and government capture
Venezuelan official Alex Saab was arrested in a joint US-Venezuelan operation. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
Venezuela’s top lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez did not confirm or deny the reports during a press conference, saying he had no information regarding the possible arrest.
This comes after a US campaign to invade Venezuela and arrest Maduro and the Trump administration seizing oil tankers from the country.
Saab’s arrest would signal a new level of cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities under the government of interim President Delsey Rodriguez, Maduro’s former deputy, who currently controls Venezuela’s law enforcement agencies and operations.
Amid pressure from the Trump administration, Venezuela’s acting president made radical changes in the oil industry.
Businessman Alex Saab is expected to be extradited to America in the coming days. (Pedro Raines Matti/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The US official highlighted the importance of Rodriguez’s cooperation in the joint operation.
Raul Gorín, the head of Venezuela’s Globovision TV network, was also arrested in the operation, the official said.
Colombia-born Saab was earlier detained in the African country of Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the US for more than three years on bribery charges. He was eventually granted amnesty in exchange for the release of Americans captured in Venezuela.
Before being granted amnesty, US authorities had accused Saab of taking approximately $350 million from Venezuela through the US as part of a bribery scheme linked to Venezuela’s state-controlled exchange rate.
Venezuelan official Alex Saab is a close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Gabriela Ora/AFP) (Photo by Gabriela Ora/AFP via Getty Images)
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Saab denied the allegations and appealed for the charges to be dismissed on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. At the time of the prisoner exchange process, an appeals court had not ruled on Saab’s appeal.
When he returned to Venezuela in late 2023, Maduro praised Saab’s devotion to the country’s socialist revolution and called him a national hero.
Maduro later appointed Saab as industry minister, a post he held until last month, when Rodriguez fired him following the arrest of the country’s former leader.
Reuters contributed to this report.
