Businessman named by Washington as Maduro's frontman admits guilt in a Miami court

Colombian businessman Alex Saab, designated by the US Treasury Department as Nicolás Maduro's key frontman, admitted guilt in a Miami federal court on Tuesday. Saab, 54, faced a single conspiracy to launder money charge linked to Venezuela's CLAP subsidized food program, carrying a maximum of twenty years in prison. The indictment alleges Saab and others established a network of companies to bribe Venezuelan officials controlling contracts for the Local Supply and Production Committee, a program meant to distribute food items at low prices amid hyperinflation.

This alleged scheme involved shell companies, falsified shipping records, and skimming public contracts to import food from Colombia and Mexico. Saab's involvement is attributed to selling crude from state oil company PDVSA and channeling proceeds through US bank accounts once sanctions made payments to suppliers difficult. Saab has a prior US case from 2019, where he was accused of obtaining social housing contracts in Venezuela and moving US$350 million out of the country.

However, seven of the eight counts were dismissed due to an assurance from the US to Cape Verde during extradition that it would prosecute him on only one count. Saab pleaded not guilty to the remaining count. In December 2023, Saab was part of a prisoner swap between the US and Venezuela, with Maduro releasing ten Americans, a fugitive former military contractor, and twenty political prisoners.

Saab was sent back to the US in May under pressure from Washington, while Maduro awaits trial in the United States.