Overview
- U.S. prosecutors unsealed money‑laundering charges against Alex Saab after Venezuela expelled him to the United States, alleging he moved hundreds of millions through American banks.
- The indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida says Saab falsified import documents for food shipments from Colombia and Mexico tied to CLAP, a program that delivers subsidized food boxes to poor households.
- The Justice Department says the scheme also drew proceeds from illicit Venezuelan oil sales, and a senior official said investigators traced the funds through U.S. financial institutions.
- The DEA said it has long probed Saab’s finances and called the case part of a push to dismantle corrupt networks linked to Maduro’s rule.
- Venezuela’s interior minister claimed Saab’s Venezuelan ID was fake and cited no SAIME record to justify deportation, a claim disputed by journalists and an anti‑corruption group who point to a diplomatic passport, government posts, social security records, and 2024 voting; Saab was first charged in 2019, arrested in Cape Verde in 2020, and later returned to Caracas in a 2023 prisoner deal, and U.S. officials may seek his cooperation in cases that include charges against Maduro.