Alex Saabformer Chavismo minister identified by the United States as an alleged figurehead of Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty this Tuesday to conspiracy for money laundering and illicit financial transactions after an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office. He assured that there were no threats or any other treatment to accept his guilt.
saaba Colombian citizen, went from being a senior official in the government of Nicolás Maduro to being imprisoned in Cape Verdewas extradited to the United States to later return to Venezuela, and years later to be returned to the US authorities by the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez.
The arrest in Cape Verde
He June 12, 2020Saab made a stopover at the Amílcar Cabral international airport on the island of Sal, in Cape Verdeto refuel. At that time the police arrested him in response to a request from the United States made through Interpol.
The Cape Verde justice system authorized August 2020 extradition, but the bold former judge Baltasar Garzónhead of Saab’s legal team, focused his strategy on delaying the process. They resorted to appeal and filed a large number of legal remedies before the Cape Verdean institutions.
Meanwhile, the Maduro government paid influencers to tweet and share content that had an impact in favor of Saab. In addition, they spread posters and graffiti in Caracas in the name of the then official and even organized protests and a concert to defend him.
Saab handled classified information
A letter that Arreaza sent to Saab revealed that the businessman handles classified information about Venezuela. In the text, dated July 1, 2020the Chavista official warned him of criminal proceedings against him or sanctions if he did not keep the secret during the judicial process in Cape Verde.
The Constitutional Court of Cape Verde confirmed the legality of the extradition he September 7, 2021in a 194-page ruling. It recognized the constitutionality of the actions of the Barlavento Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice, which authorized the delivery of Saab to the United States in 2020 and in March 2021.
Alex Saab was extradited on Saturday, October 16, 2021. He boarded the plane that took him to the United States.
The defense arguments were pulverized and Saab faced the expected process before the US justice system, which accused him at the time of laundering up to 350 million dollars defrauded through the exchange control system in Venezuela.
The return to Venezuela
The Colombian businessman was freed in 2023 during the government of Joe Biden (2021-2025), who pardoned and released him as part of an exchange for a dozen prisoners in Venezuela.
He returned to Venezuela on December 20 of that year. Later, Maduro appointed him Minister of Industries and National Production.
The government of Delcy Rodriguez confirmed on Saturday May 16, 2026 the delivery of Colombian businessman Alex Saab to the United States, alleging that he faces crimes in that country and his judicial situation was a “public, notorious and communicational” fact.
The announcement was formalized through a statement from the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (Saime), which ratified the measure as part of compliance with Venezuelan immigration legislation.
The delivery to the United States occurred just months after Saab was removed from his position as Minister of Industries and National Production, in January, during the restructuring of Delcy Rodríguez’s cabinet.
In February, the businessman was captured in Caracas in an operation in which, according to reports, US agencies would have cooperated. Since then he has remained in the custody of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), while his immigration and criminal situation was evaluated.
Saab appeared for the first time on the current charges before the US courts on May 18two days after his deportation to the United States from Venezuela, now under the presidency of Delcy Rodríguez.
Although today they try to distance themselves from saab, For years the main figures of Chavismo defended him: Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello They denounced his first arrest as “kidnapping” and presented him as a diplomat Venezuelan persecuted for helping the country to evade international sanctions to supposedly buy food, medicine and fuel.
“Guilty, your honor.”
This Tuesday, when appearing in person in a Miami court, with gray hair tied up, a beard and an ocher prisoner’s uniform, Saab changed the “not guilty” plea that he had presented on July 24.
“Guilty, your honor.”stated the 54-year-old businessman, in a hearing before Judge Kathleen M. Williams in the Southern District Court of Florida, the Efe news agency confirmed.
The 12-page agreement that Saab reached with the Prosecutor’s Office, whose details were not revealed, was reviewed by the judge. The former official could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Saab, who will be sentenced in January 2027, admitted that he committed, together with accomplices with undisclosed identities, the conspiracy to illicit activities, fraud, bribery of officials and hiding the origin of funds.
Millionaire contracts
It is unknown how much money Saab managed from the contracts in Venezuela.
The National Assembly elected in 2015 denounced in 2018 that the import mafias in which Saab appears defrauded the country at least 5 billion dollars only because of the markups and wide profit margins obtained from the food distributed through the CLAP program.
Saab entered any gap where there was opportunity and a lot of money. He did business with Iran, Russia and Türkiye with gold, oil and even imported gasoline when the country was experiencing critical shortages.
