Maduro’s Chief Operator Alex Saab to Turn State’s Evidence
Agrees to provide information to US implicating “senior Venezuelan officials”
The agreement reached by Saab, the alleged front man for ousted President Nicolas Maduro, does not, however, mention the former Maduro.
HAVANA TIMES – Former Venezuelan minister Alex Saab, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to money laundering in the United States, agreed to “provide complete information” to US authorities implicating “senior Venezuelan officials,” according to the agreement reached with prosecutors.
The agreement reached wth Saab, the alleged front man for ousted President Nicolas Maduro, does not, however, mention Maduro, who remains imprisoned in New York on drug trafficking charges.
In the document, released hours after Saab pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in a Miami court, the defendant admits that he “agreed to launder money and commit fraud” with “senior members of the Government of Venezuela,” including two suspects whose identities have not been disclosed by prosecutors.
The US government agreed to seek a reduced sentence for Venezuela’s former Minister of Industry and National Production (2024–2026), who could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the 12-page agreement.
In exchange, the 54-year-old Colombian-born oil businessman agreed to “cooperate fully” with the Department of Justice by “providing truthful and complete information and testimony, and producing documents, records, and other evidence” in “any trial or proceeding” requested by the government.
“Likewise, the defendant agrees that he will not protect any person or entity through false information or omission, will not falsely implicate any person or entity, and will not commit any other crime,” states Saab’s agreement. He had initially pleaded “not guilty” on July 24.
One Scheme After Another
In his guilty plea, Saab acknowledged that in 2015, when Maduro was president, he organized with “senior government officials” an “illegal scheme” involving “bribes” and “illegal payments” connected to Venezuela’s government-run Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) program, with money transferred to South Florida.
The document names Alvaro Pulido Vargas, Jose Gregorio Vielma Mora, Emmanuel Enrique Rubio Gonzalez, and Carlos Rolando Lizcano, but also mentions “co-defendant 1” and “co-defendant 3,” two suspects whose identities prosecutors have not publicly disclosed.
Saab, who appeared Tuesday with a beard and dressed in beige, first appeared in US court on the current charges on May 18, two days after his deportation to the United States from Venezuela, now under the interim presidency of Delcy Rodriguez.
The case takes on particular significance because it comes after Maduro’s arrival in New York in January, where he faces charges of “narcoterrorism,” drug trafficking, and weapons possession.
Alex Saab had previously faced money laundering charges in Miami but was released in 2023 during the administration of Joe Biden (2021–2025) as part of an exchange for about a dozen prisoners held in Venezuela. He then returned to Caracas, where he was appointed Minister of Industry and National Production.