The Venezuelan government on Saturday said that it has extradited a close associate of deposed leader Nicolás Maduro to the United States.
The deportation of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who also served as a minister in Caracas under Maduro, was carried out on Saturday "in compliance with the provisions of Venezuelan immigration law," the authorities in Caracas said.
Venezuela, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, cited Saab's involvement "in the commission of various crimes in the United States, as is public knowledge and widely reported."
Saab in 2023 had been extradited from Cape Verde to the US, where he was facing charges of money laundering in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Later that year, the administration of then-US president Joe Biden pardoned him as part of a prisoner swap.
According to US investigators, Saab is believed to have extensive information about the alleged illegal businesses of the Maduro family and high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
In January Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested by US forces in Caracas and taken to New York, where they face charges including narco-terrorism. Maduro has denied the allegations. Rodríguez, formerly Maduro's vice president, has since taken over the presidency in Caracas.
