MIAMI (AP) – A top fugitive close to Venezuela’s socialist government has been put on a plane to the U.S. to face money laundering charges, a senior U.S. official confirmed Saturday.
Alex Saab was on a chartered Justice Department flight from Cape Verde, where he was arrested 16 months ago while making a stop on the way to Iran for what Nicolás Maduro’s government later described as a diplomatic humanitarian mission.
The official spoke on condition he not be named. Earlier, several media outlets in Cape Verde also reported his extradition, citing unnamed sources. A public relations firm representing Saab said in an email that the Colombian businessman was taken from his home without his lawyers being notified.
Saab’s arrival to the U.S. is bound to complicate relations between Washington and Caracas, possibly disrupting fledgling talks between Maduro’s government and its U.S.-backed opposition taking place in Mexico.
Maduro last month blasted the U.S. for the “kidnapping” and “torture” of Saab, a businessman from Colombia who prosecutors say amassed a fortune wheeling and dealing on behalf of the socialist government, which faces heavy U.S. sanctions.