President Joe Biden’s government has freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for Americans imprisoned in Venezuela, the Associated Press has learned.
Alex Saab, arrested in 2020 on a warrant for money laundering, was released on Wednesday. In exchange, Maduro will release some, if not all, of the 10 U.S. citizens imprisoned in Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The White House declined to comment.
The United States has long accused Saab of being a bagman for Maduro. Saab’s release would be seen as a major concession to Maduro, an authoritarian leader who is the target of a US$15 million reward for anyone who brings him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The deal is also likely to anger the Venezuelan opposition, which has lately criticized the White House for standing idly by as the OPEC nation’s leader has repeatedly outmaneuvered the U.S. government after the OPEC’s maximum pressure campaign. Trump administration failed to overthrow him.
In October, the White House eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry and promised to reimpose them if Maduro did not fulfill his promise to pave the way for free and fair elections next year by November 30. That deadline has passed and so far Maduro has failed to reverse a ban that prevents his main opponent, María Corina Machado, from running for office.
Among the Americans behind bars in Venezuela are two former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were involved in an attempt to overthrow Maduro in 2019. Also detained are Eyvin Hernández, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Cristella, accused of entering the country . illegally from Colombia. More recently, Venezuela arrested Savoi Wright, a 38-year-old California businessman.
Saab, 51, was taken off a private plane during a fuel stop in Cape Verde en route to Iran, where he was sent to negotiate oil deals on behalf of Maduro’s government. The charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering linked to a bribery scheme that allegedly diverted $350 million through state contracts to build affordable housing for the Venezuelan government.
Maduro’s government has insisted that Saab was traveling to Iran to buy food and medical supplies when he was detained in Cape Verde. Saab was previously sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for allegedly leading a scheme that included Maduro’s inner circle and stole hundreds of millions of dollars from food import contracts at a time of widespread famine due primarily to shortages in the South American country.
A decade after the start of the crisis, grocery stores are now fully stocked, but few can afford to buy food. The monthly minimum wage is about $3.60, enough to buy a gallon of water.
The Trump administration presented Saab as a trophy and spent millions of dollars pursuing the Colombian-born businessman. At one point, he even deployed a Navy warship to the coast of West Africa to warn the Venezuelans.
Maduro’s government has argued that Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat, entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution under international law.
