Venezuela Deports Alex Saab to the U.S.

This weekend, Venezuela’s socialist government announced the deportation of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman thought to be a key figure in President Nicolas Maduro’s money laundering schemes. This comes about two and a half years after former President Joe Biden pardoned him.

The announcement was made through a brief statement from the SAIME Migration and Identity Services Agency, which indicated that Saab was deported due to accusations of various crimes in the U.S., as is widely known from media coverage.

As of now, no further details about Saab’s deportation have been provided by other institutions or members of the Venezuelan regime.

Interestingly, SAIME referred to Saab simply as a “Colombian national,” which is a notable change from how he was previously characterized by Venezuelan socialists, who once viewed him as a “hero” for supposedly helping Maduro bypass U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.

Media coverage shows Saab arriving in the U.S. while handcuffed and escorted by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents.

For years, Saab, now 54, was considered Maduro’s “financial brain.” He’s accused of profiting from the difficulties faced by Venezuelans through corrupt and money-laundering ventures, particularly as he contributed to the CLAP program. This initiative, launched in the mid-2010s, involved selling subpar food to the people struggling to get by.

Recent reports indicate that U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating Saab’s involvement in a bribery conspiracy tied to the CLAP program. One of Saab’s business partners has been indicted, and Saab is named in the conspiracy, allegedly bribing a pro-Maduro governor and creating a network that facilitated overpriced imports of food from Mexico.

The beneficiaries of the CLAP program were often those in desperate need of food, as community councils were responsible for distributing these kits. Reports suggest that CLAP has recently “disappeared” from certain areas in Caracas, and there hasn’t been an official explanation for this gap.

U.S. authorities initially arrested Saab in Cape Verde in 2020. He faced charges for laundering approximately $350 million from Venezuela’s national treasury through questionable construction contracts. Although he was in legal proceedings, he was released and sent back to Venezuela by Biden in December 2023, where Maduro celebrated his return, even appointing him as the new industry minister.

In early February, following U.S. forces detaining Maduro, it was reported that Saab was arrested again, this time in a joint operation by the FBI and Venezuelan authorities. The Venezuelan government, under “acting president” Delcy Rodriguez, has remained silent on Saab’s capture.

After Saab’s first arrest, Maduro’s government asserted he was a “Venezuelan diplomat,” claiming his detention was due to “diplomatic immunity.” The regime attempted to rally public support for Saab’s release through media campaigns involving social media influencers. Some of these campaigns even likened Saab to a heroic figure, similar to Oskar Schindler.

A Venezuelan news outlet reported that both Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez, among others, were behind efforts to frame Saab’s arrest as illegitimate. They had referred to the U.S. actions as a form of kidnapping, only to celebrate Saab’s return as a success later on.

Saab, born in Colombia, is presumed to be a Colombian citizen, though his potential dual citizenship with Venezuela remains ambiguous. Venezuelan socialists have claimed that he may have received Venezuelan citizenship through naturalization, which complicates his appointment as industry minister, potentially violating Venezuelan constitutional requirements.