Venezuela Deports Alex Saab to U.S. Over Food-Contract Bribery Probe 3 Years After Pardon
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · May 16
Venezuela Deports Alex Saab to U.S. Over Food-Contract Bribery Probe 3 Years After Pardon
14 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · May 16
Alex Saab, 54, was deported by Venezuela to face U.S. judicial proceedings, reversing his status less than three years after Joe Biden pardoned him in a prisoner swap.
U.S. prosecutors have spent months investigating Saab’s alleged role in a bribery conspiracy tied to Venezuelan government contracts to import food, according to an AP report in February.
The Venezuelan government did not explicitly name the destination but said the deportation was based on several ongoing U.S. criminal investigations.
Saab, a Colombian-born businessman once labeled Maduro’s “bag man,” amassed a fortune through state contracts and could now be pressed to testify against his former patron after Venezuela’s leadership change.
Now that Maduro's top financier is in US custody, what secrets will be revealed about Venezuela's hidden billions?
What precedent does Maduro's capture and trial in New York set for other authoritarian leaders worldwide?
Can a US-backed government led by a former Maduro loyalist truly bring democratic change and free elections to Venezuela?