Overview
- Saab, deported from Venezuela on Saturday, appeared in a Miami federal court on Monday to hear a U.S. indictment and remains in custody.
- The Justice Department alleges a 2015–2026 scheme that used bribes, sham companies, fake invoices and shipping records, and U.S. bank transfers to siphon money from Venezuela’s CLAP food program and to profit from PDVSA oil sales after 2019 sanctions.
- Judge Marty Fulgueria Elfenbein set the next hearing for June 24, and prosecutors say parts of the conduct ran through Miami‑Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward counties.
- Venezuelan officials Delcy Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello defended sending Saab to the U.S., calling him Colombian and saying he used a fraudulent Venezuelan ID, which clashes with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that described him as Venezuelan and a diplomat.
- Reporting in Mexico says the case has revived scrutiny of firms that supplied CLAP food, such as Libre Abordo and Grupo Kosmos, with experts noting U.S. money‑laundering laws could draw in actors whose funds touched American banks; Saab was earlier arrested in 2020, later pardoned in 2023, named a minister in 2024, and removed in January 2026.