Alex Saab, a close ally of Nicolás Maduro, then dictator of Venezuela, was deported to the United States, according to the Venezuelan government.
Saab headed it from October 2014 to January this year.
The deportation took place on Saturday (17), according to a brief statement released by Saime (Venezuela’s Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).
The statement indicates that Saab will face legal proceedings in the United States for “various crimes”, although it is unclear which part of the country he will be sent to.
A CNN contacted Saime and is trying to obtain more details from Saab’s lawyers. THE CNN also contacted the US Departments of State and Justice seeking information.
Saab is a Colombian businessman of Lebanese origin who was previously in Cape Verde in 2020 and extradited to the United States to face charges of money laundering conspiracy and for allegedly acting as a figurehead for the Venezuelan government.
At the time, he pleaded not guilty and, in 2023, was pardoned by then-President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner exchange.
Upon Saab’s return to Venezuela, Maduro appointed him Minister of Industries and National Production. He remained in office until shortly after Maduro’s ouster earlier this year.
In mid-January, he removed him from the cabinet, a move that some analysts interpreted as an attempt by Rodríguez to distance himself from Maduro.
