Venezuela has extradited a close associate of Maduro to the U.S. to testify against him

Alex Saab, a Venezuelan businessman and ally of former President Nicolás Maduro, has been officially deported to the United States following his arrest in Caracas during a joint operation by U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement agencies. The businessman is expected to provide U.S. law enforcement with valuable information that could significantly strengthen the criminal case against the former head of state. 

This was reported by Reuters. The joint operation took place a month after U.S. special forces captured Nicolás Maduro himself in Caracas.

Overall, the businessman’s arrest and subsequent extradition signal a new level of cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement agencies under the current leadership of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. The 54-year-old Colombian national had previously been detained in Cape Verde in 2020, after which he was held in custody in the U.S. on bribery charges. In 2023, Saab was pardoned by the U.S. as part of an exchange deal for the release of U.S. citizens who were being held in Venezuela, and the Venezuelan immigration agency SAIME has officially confirmed the current deportation proceedings against him.