An individual known as Nicolás Maduro’s ‘bag man’ has been extradited to the US to face judicial proceedings despite being granted a presidential pardon by Joe Biden in 2023.
Alex Saab, 54, a close ally of Maduro, was reportedly deported after he was arrested in February in Venezuela, according to Venezuela’s migration agency.
Saab received the pardon in a prisoner swap. The US released him from jail in exchange for Americans imprisoned in Venezeula.
Sources told local media, Lapatilla, that Saab will be tried in the Southern District of Florida on charges of money laundering, corruption and sanctions evasion.
The State Department and the Department of Justice assisted in the operation alongside the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the outlet.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez formalized the deportation order, which was carried out by the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration, and Foreigners (SAIME).
The agency referred to Saab in their statement as a ‘Colombian citizen.’ He is a Colombian national but holds Venezuelan citizenship as well.
The Venezuelan government said he has been ‘implicated in committing several crimes in the United States of America, a fact that is widely known, notorious, and heavily documented in the media.’
Maduro ally Alex Saab, pictured above, has been deported to the US to face judicial proceedings. He’s pictured above with Maduro in 2024
Saab is a Colombian national and a close ally of Maduro. He was arrested in Venezeula in February
Saab, pictured above, was pardoned and released from US custody in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange
The decision marks the latest development in US relations with Venezeula under Rodriguez’s administration.
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