Former Venezuelan minister of Lebanese descent Alex Saab arrested, according to US official

Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a former businessman of Colombian and Lebanese origin who was previously detained in the United States, was reportedly arrested in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of a joint operation between American and Venezuelan authorities, according to a U.S. law enforcement official. Mr. Saab, born in Colombia and a close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, had already been arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 and held for more than three years in the U.S. on corruption charges, before being pardoned in exchange for the release of Americans detained in Venezuela.

Saab, 54, is expected to be extradited to the United States in the coming days, according to the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He added that Raul Gorrin, head of Venezuelan network Globovision, was also arrested during the operation.

A ‘fake news’?

Following this announcement, a lawyer for Maduro’s ally, Luigi Giuliano, denied in the Colombian daily El Espectador that his client had been arrested, calling it “fake news.” Journalists close to the Venezuelan government also denied on social media that Mr. Saab had been arrested. Speaking to the Venezuelan news site TalCual, Luigi Giuliano added that the ex-businessman and minister might appear in person to confirm the information, but that he was consulting with the government about the events that occurred.

Jorge Rodriguez, a senior Venezuelan official speaking at an evening press conference, neither confirmed nor denied the information, stating the matter was not under his purview and that he had no information regarding this possible arrest. Contacted by Reuters, Mr. Giuliano did not immediately respond to e-mails sent to the addresses listed on the website of the law firm where he works. A lawyer who had represented Alex Saab before U.S. courts in December 2023 also refused to comment on the matter. Lawyers for Mr. Gorrin could not be immediately identified. Globovision did not respond to an agency phone call or e-mail. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House, nor the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication responded to requests for comment.

Washington-Caracas cooperation

If confirmed, this arrest would represent a dramatic shift, a month after Maduro himself was captured by U.S. forces in Caracas, and would suggest a new level of collaboration between American and Venezuelan law enforcement under interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s government, the former deputy of Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. official highlighted the importance of Rodriguez’s cooperation in this joint operation. As acting leader, she controls Venezuelan law enforcement agencies and operations.

Before his pardon in 2023, U.S. authorities accused Alex Saab of embezzling about $350 million from Venezuela via the U.S., as part of a corruption scheme linked to the country’s government-controlled exchange rate. He denied these accusations and sought to have them dropped due to diplomatic immunity. An appeals court had not ruled on his claim at the time of the prisoner swap. He made a triumphant return to Venezuela at the end of 2023, where Nicolas Maduro praised his loyalty “to the country’s socialist revolution” and hailed him as a national hero.

Maduro later appointed Alex Saab as minister of industry, a post he held until last month, before being dismissed by Delcy Rodriguez.