The government of Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has extradited a close confidant of ousted head of state Nicolás Maduro to the US justice system.
May 17, 2026, 03:59May 17, 2026, 03:59
The American justice system has accused Alex Saab of numerous crimes, said the migration authority, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.
Nicolas Maduro and Alex Saab were close. Image: keystone
For the Colombian businessman Saab, who was also a temporary minister in Caracas under Maduro, the extradition to the USA is likely to be déjà vu: Saab was arrested on the Cape Verde Islands in 2020 when his private jet had to refuel on the way to Iran. A year later he was extradited to the USA, where he was investigated for, among other things, money laundering worth hundreds of millions. However, in 2023, the government of US President Joe Biden released him in exchange for several Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. The US government said at the time that Biden did not make the decision to extradite Saab easy.
US investigators may be betting that Saab has information about illegal transactions by Maduro and other high-ranking officials in Venezuela – perhaps also to use it directly in the trial against the ousted authoritarian head of state.
The US military invaded Venezuela at the beginning of the year and captured Maduro. He is to be tried in New York for alleged involvement in drug trafficking. In Caracas, the then Vice President Rodríguez took over the reins of government – and has since shown herself to be extremely cooperative with the former enemy in Washington. (sda/dpa)