“Alex Saab knows where Maduro’s accounts are and could be a key witness in the trial against him in the United States”

saab He was already imprisoned in the United States in 2021 on charges of money laundering and corruption. He had been arrested in 2020 in Cape Verde and later delivered.

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Venezuela negotiated its release in 2023 in exchange for Americans imprisoned in its territory. After his return, Maduro appointed him Minister of Industry.

But after the overthrow of Maduro by the United States, the country where he is currently imprisoned, the interim president Delcy Rodríguez dismissed Saab from all his duties in February.

Furthermore, the American newspaper The New York Times reported that after his dismissal Saab was arrested in Caracas at the request of Washingtonsomething that the Rodríguez regime neither confirmed nor denied.

In January, US prosecutors filed a corruption indictment against Saab in MiamiFlorida.

In its statement on Saturday, the government of Venezuela said that “the deportation measure was adopted taking into consideration that the aforementioned Colombian citizen is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States of America, as is public, notorious and communicational.”

Alex Saab faces up to 20 years in prison if the United States justice system finds him guilty to transfer, together with his partner Álvaro Pulido, also requested, 350 million dollars of Venezuela to foreign accounts controlled by them.

Who is Alex Saab?

The Venezuelan journalist Roberto Deniz, from the portal ArmandoInfoa medium that has investigated saab for 10 years, he recalled in a video that he is a Colombian businessman from Barranquilla who He arrived in Venezuela as a contractor for the Housing Mission in 2011, when Hugo Chávez was still ruling. and Maduro was his chancellor.

Starting in 2013, when Maduro assumed the Presidency, Saab stopped being an anonymous contractor to become the regime’s favorite contractor.. He was behind the CLAP business, the program for selling subsidized food to the poorest in Venezuela. “He sold food of the worst possible quality at overprices,” Deniz said.

He added that saab He was also in the business of illegal exports of Venezuelan gold, and in the marketing of Venezuelan oil to evade sanctions from the Treasury Department. “This is how he became a kind of financial operator for Nicolás Maduro himself”said Deniz.

“From 2012 to 2020, when he was arrested, Alex Saab managed between 8,000 and 10,000 million dollars. Only in a shell oil company called Trenaco did he receive a contract from PDVSA for 4.5 billion dollars, a contract that finally fell apart and we do not know what happened to the money”Deniz assured.

He also maintained that ArmandoInfo documented that in the CLAP business, only one saab handled contracts for between 800 and 900 million dollars.

“He is the front man. He knows where Maduro’s accounts are”

The Venezuelan lawyer and diplomat Victor Rodriguez Cedeno considered that the delivery of Alex Saab to the United States marks a breaking point within chavismo and opens the door for the Colombian businessman to become a key piece in the trial that Maduro faces in New York, by serious federal charges related to the narcoterrorism, international drug trafficking and the possession of firearms and explosives.

According to the analyst, more than a formal extradition, What happened was a “delivery” with a strong political content and a message addressed to other Chavista leaders investigated by Washington.

Rodríguez Cedeño believes that Washington will try to negotiate with Saab an eventual judicial cooperation in exchange for procedural benefits.

“I believe exactly that.”responded to The Commerce When asked about the possibility that saab declare against Maduro.

As he explained, The businessman knows sensitive details about Chavismo’s finances and Maduro’s assets.

“He is the front man. He knows where Maduro’s accounts are,” he assured.

Rodríguez Cedeño also warned that a possible testimony from Saab could compromise a good part of the Chavista leadership.

“Everyone is involved there”he stated.

As indicated, Saab handled extremely sensitive information about alleged corruption structures and financial movements of Venezuelan leaders.

“This person’s dedication is going to splash around the world. “He must have tremendous information,” he assured.

The lawyer mentioned among those possibly affected Delcy Rodríguez, his brother Jorge Rodríguez and other leaders of the ruling party.

“They are all millionaires, but millionaires of billions”he stated.

The lawyer also recalled that saab He had previously been released for political reasons, after negotiations between Caracas and Washington, but he warned that now his situation is different.

“He knows that he is on the United States list and it would be best for him to spend some time in prison and cooperate with the authorities.”he indicated.

He even estimated that Saab could end up directly involved in the process being followed in Brooklyn against Maduro and other members of his entourage.

“In Chavismo there are no longer loyalties”

For Rodríguez Cedeño, the eventual scenario of Saab’s judicial cooperation occurs in the midst of a strong internal crisis within Chavismo.

“I believe that among them, at this moment, they are so cornered that there is no loyalty at all. There is every man for himself,” held.

The lawyer recalled that Ruling figures, including Delcy Rodríguez, celebrated Saab’s return to Venezuela after his release in the United States in 2023, presenting it as a political victory of the “Bolivarian revolution.”

However, now the panorama would be completely different.

“They defended him a lot and now they hand him over,” he pointed out.

In his opinion, International pressure and US investigations have placed Chavismo “against the wall.”

Delcy Rodríguez and internal pressure

Rodríguez Cedeño also targeted the president directly Delcy Rodríguez, whom he considers trapped between the demands of the United States and the tensions within the Venezuelan ruling party.

“This lady either heeds the instructions or loses power”he stated.

According to what he said, sectors of the so-called “original Chavismo” are already harshly questioning Rodríguez and accusing her of betraying the principles of the revolution.

“Her internal allies are seeing very strong criticism (…) but she has no other way out,” held.

The lawyer considered that The president “had no alternative but to hand him over.”

“He was very close to Maduro’s inner circle”

Finally, Rodríguez Cedeño remarked that Saab was part of the closest environment of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

He also recalled the intense diplomatic and judicial campaign deployed by Caracas when Saab was arrested in Cape Verde and later released.

For the lawyer, the current silence of Ripe and his surroundings about the case also reflects the importance of saab within the Chavista structure.

“He managed their accounts, important accounts,” he insisted.

“One of the most important instruments of all this embezzlement from Venezuela is Alex Saab,” he concluded.