Alex Saab, figurehead of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, was extradited again to the United States
After a number of weeks of a lot hypothesis about his whereabouts, this Saturday Alex Saabfigurehead of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, was extradited again to the United States. According to sources consulted by the Colombian newspaper The Timethe Colombian-Venezuelan businessman would have been faraway from El Helicoide jail to be transferred from Caracas to south Florida.
“The Government of the Bolviarian Republic of Venezuela reports the deportation of the citizen of Colombian nationality Alex Naim Saab Morán, carried out this May 16, 2026 in compliance with the regulatory provisions of Venezuelan immigration legislation,” says the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (SAIME) of Venezuela, in an official assertion.
And he provides: “The deportation measure was adopted taking into consideration that The aforementioned Colombian citizen is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States of America.just as it is public, notorious and communicational.”
In this manner, Saab is extradited by choice of the interim authorities of Venezuela, chaired by Delcy Rodriguezafter the current seize of Maduro. The measure responds to years of formal accusations in the United States for corruption and cash laundering, linked to multimillion-dollar public contracts awarded throughout the administration of the former Chavista dictator.
AlbertoNews informs that saab He was transferred from El Helicoide underneath custody to the Simón Bolívar worldwide airport in Maiquetía. There, a Gulfstream plane, with US registration N550GA, landed moments earlier than with a scheduled vacation spot to Opa Locka Executive Airport, Miami.
The operation included the participation of brokers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)in accordance to the sources consulted by that medium. They additionally supervised the process United States Department of State and the Department of Justice.
Federal authorities in Miami accuse Alex Saab to spearhead schemes cash laundering and corruption with sources of the Venezuelan State. The US investigation focuses on actions of a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} by means of public catering contracts, particularly with the CLAP program.
The investigations point out that saab would have channeled funds by means of corporations situated in numerous worldwide jurisdictions. The prices in opposition to him embody prison conspiracy, cash laundering and paying bribes to Venezuelan officers.
According to the accusation introduced earlier than the Court of the Southern District of Florida, Saab would have falsified paperwork and used intermediaries to facilitate worldwide transfers of public funds.
The businessman was extradited from Cape Verde to the United States in October 2021. His protection has maintained earlier than completely different judicial situations that he acted as a particular envoy of the Venezuelan authorities and that his detention violated worldwide provisions on diplomatic immunity. The Venezuelan regime appointed him consultant to the African Union in 2020an argument that was not acknowledged by the Cape Verde authorities or the United States courts.
He remained in judicial detention till December 2023when he acquired a pardon from the authorities of the former president Joe Biden as half of a prisoner alternate, which allowed him to quickly return to Venezuela.
Alex Saabborn in Barranquilla and of Lebanese origin, started his profession as a businessman in worldwide commerce earlier than getting into official positions in the Maduro authorities. According to Armando.informationbetween 2013 and 2020obtained contracts totaling greater than 10 billion {dollars} by means of corporations in Panama, Hong Kong, Mexico, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.
After returning to Caracas in 2023, Ripe He joined the cupboard first as president of the International Center for Productive Investments (CIIP) after which as Minister of Industry and National Production in October 2024. His administration concluded on January 16, 2026when Delcy Rodriguez He dismissed him and merged the corresponding ministry after assuming the interim authorities.
In parallel, saab He has collected a sentence in Italy for cash laundering, associated to the acquisition of a luxurious condominium in Rome with illicit funds.
The course of focuses on Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Floresinvestigated in New York by the American justice system. Analysts keep that the cooperation or testimonies of saab They may be decisive in unraveling the functioning of monetary networks linked to Chavismo and advancing open instances in opposition to former excessive officers.
The supply of Alex Saab to US authorities might mark a elementary advance in worldwide investigations into the operational and monetary construction of the Chavista equipment, in addition to in the ongoing prison proceedings in opposition to the former Venezuelan dictator and his closest circle in the United States.
