Alex Saab, Close Ally of Maduro, Deported to the US

The deportation was carried out after considering that the Colombian national was involved in various crimes in the United States, as is known to the public and has been reported,” said Venezuela’s immigration administration in a statement, as reported by AFP on Sunday (17/5/2026).

Saab, a businessman born in Colombia, has been close to the Venezuelan government in recent years of the presidency of leftist figure Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) and later managed a vast import network for the Maduro administration.

He is accused of acting as an intermediary and money launderer for Maduro and his government, which in return granted him Venezuelan citizenship and a diplomatic passport.

He was first arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 on charges of money laundering and corruption, and extradited to the United States the following year.