Maduro ally Alex Saab expected to plead guilty in federal money laundering case

A close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Alex Saab, is expected to plead guilty on Tuesday in a federal money laundering case. The charges allege Saab bribed officials to secure lucrative food import contracts during Venezuela's economic crisis. Saab was deported in May at the request of Venezuelan authorities, who were under U.S. pressure.

He was indicted in 2019 under the previous administration and arrested in Cape Verde in 2023 while on what his country claimed was a humanitarian mission to Iran. President Biden pardoned Saab in 2023 to facilitate the release of Americans imprisoned in Venezuela, but this deal was met with criticism from Republicans and law enforcement officials. Saab was charged in this current case with a single count of money laundering.