Maduro ally Saab, Venezuelan businessman once held in US, arrested again, US official says

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 - Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a Colombian-Venezuelan former businessman once held in the U.S., was arrested in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of a joint operation between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

Saab, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, was cinematically detained in Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the U.S. for more than three years on bribery charges, before being granted clemency in exchange for the release of Americans held in Venezuela.

His latest detention represents a dramatic turn in fortune a month after Maduro himself was captured by U.S. forces in Caracas, and suggests a new level of collaboration between U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement under the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy.

Saab, 54, is expected to be extradited to the U.S. in the coming days, the U.S. official said.

The official noted the significance of Rodriguez's cooperation in the joint operation. As interim leader, Rodriguez controls Venezuela's law enforcement agencies and actions.

Raul Gorrin, the head of Venezuela's Globovision TV network, was also arrested in the operation, according to the official.

Colombian newspaper El Espectador later on Wednesday cited a man who it said was Saab's lawyer, Luigi Giuliano, denying the arrest as "fake news." Journalists aligned with Venezuela's government also denied that Saab had been arrested in posts on social media on Wednesday afternoon.

Giuliano did not immediately respond to emails sent to addresses listed on a law firm website. Globovision did not immediately respond to a call and email from Reuters.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before his 2023 clemency, U.S. officials had charged Saab with siphoning around $350 million out of Venezuela through the U.S. as part of a bribery scheme linked to Venezuela's state-controlled exchange rate.

Saab denied the charges and appealed to have them dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity. An appeals court had not ruled on Saab's appeal at the time of the prisoner swap.

He returned with fanfare to Venezuela at the end of 2023, where Maduro lauded his loyalty to the country's socialist revolution and feted him as a national hero.

Maduro later made Saab industry minister, a position he held until last month, when he was removed by Rodriguez. REUTERS