Alex Saab, key aide of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, extradited to US on money-laundering charges

Venezuela’s government suspended talks with the opposition in retaliation for the extradition of Saab, who was put on a plane to the US from Cape Verde

US authorities believe Saab holds secrets about how Maduro and his top aides siphoned off millions of dollars in government contracts

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A woman walks by a mural in support of the liberation of businessman Alex Saab in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:36am, 17 Oct 2021Updated: 11:47am, 17 Oct 2021

Venezuela’s government said on Saturday it would halt negotiations with its opponents in retaliation for the extradition to the US of a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro who prosecutors believe could be the most significant witness ever about corruption in the South American country.

Jorge Rodríguez, who has been heading the government’s delegation, said his team would not travel to Mexico City for the next scheduled round of negotiations.

The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw businessman Alex Saab placed on a US-bound plane in Cape Verde after a 16-month fight by Maduro and his allies, including Russia, who consider the Colombian-born businessman a Venezuelan diplomat.

A few hours after news of Saab’s extradition blew up Venezuelan social media, six American oil executives held on house arrest were picked up by security forces – a sign that relations between Washington and Caracas could be upended after months of quiet diplomacy since Joe Biden entered the White House. Families of the men known as the Citgo 6 – for the Houston subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company where they worked – fear they could be thrown back into jail.

“The fact that Mr. Saab is in the US before my father is a disgrace,” said Cristina Vadell, whose father, Tomeu Vadell, is among the Americans serving out long sentences in the country on what the US government considers trumped-up charges.

Vadell described the men as currently disappeared, adding that “this is additional proof that these Americans are held hostage in Venezuela, and President Biden’s administration needs to recognise this and win their release immediately.”