Alex Saab, once a prominent businessman and known confidant of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, found himself at the center of a dramatic arrest in Venezuela on Wednesday. This operation was a collaborative effort between Venezuelan authorities and the United States, as confirmed by a U.S. law enforcement official.
The 54-year-old Saab, who had been previously detained in the U.S., is now poised for extradition back to American soil in the coming days, according to the same official speaking to Reuters.
However, the narrative took a twist when Saab’s legal representative, Luigi Giuliano, dismissed the reports of his client’s arrest as “fake news,” as quoted in Colombia’s El Espectador newspaper. Adding to the confusion, pro-government journalists in Venezuela took to social media to dispute the arrest claims.
In a statement to Venezuelan news outlet TalCual, Giuliano suggested that Saab might soon make a public appearance to dispute these arrest stories. Meanwhile, he is reportedly in talks with government officials to clarify the situation.
Despite widespread reports, Jorge Rodríguez, a senior Venezuelan lawmaker, remained non-committal at a press briefing, stating he lacked any specific details about Saab’s potential detention.
Venezuela’s top lawmaker, Jorge Rodríguez, did not confirm or deny the reports during a press conference, saying he had no information concerning the possible arrest.
This comes after the U.S. operation to attack Venezuela and arrest Maduro, and the Trump administration’s subsequent seizing of oil tankers from the country.
Saab’s arrest would suggest a new level of collaboration between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities under the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, who currently controls Venezuela’s law enforcement agencies and actions.
Alex Saab is expected to be extradited to the U.S. in the coming days. (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The U.S. official highlighted the significance of Rodriguez’s cooperation in the joint operation.
Raul Gorrin, the head of Venezuela’s Globovision TV network, was also arrested in the operation, the official said.
Saab, who was born in Colombia, was previously detained in the African nation of Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the U.S. for more than three years on bribery charges. He was eventually granted clemency in exchange for the release of Americans held in Venezuela.
Before he was granted clemency, U.S. officials had charged Saab with taking around $350 million out of Venezuela through the U.S. as part of a bribery scheme connected to Venezuela’s state-controlled exchange rate.
Venezuelan official Alex Saab is a close ally of captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (Gabriela Oraa/AFP via Getty Images)
Saab denied the allegations and appealed to have the charges dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity. An appeals court had not ruled on Saab’s appeal by the time the prisoner swap went through.
When he returned to Venezuela at the end of 2023, Maduro praised Saab’s loyalty to the country’s socialist revolution and called him a national hero.
Maduro later appointed Saab as industry minister, a position he held until last month, when he was dismissed by Rodriguez following the arrest of the country’s former leader.
