Miami, Oct. 17 (BNA) The Venezuelan government said it will stop negotiations with its opponents in response to the extradition to the United States of a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, who prosecutors believe may be the most important witness ever to corruption in the south. American country.
Jorge Rodriguez, who was heading the government delegation, said his team would not travel to Mexico City for the next round of scheduled negotiations.
The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw businessman Alex Saab board a US-bound flight in Cape Verde after a 16-month battle between Maduro and his allies, including Russia, who consider the Colombian-born businessman a Venezuelan diplomat, according to the Associated Press. (AP) Reports.
Just hours after news broke of a tough rendition to Venezuelan social media, security forces have returned six US oil executives held under house arrest to prison — a sign that relations between Washington and Caracas could turn upside down after months of quiet diplomacy since Joe Biden. I entered the White House. The families of the men known as Citgo 6 — which is affiliated with the state-owned Venezuelan Oil Company in Houston where they worked — have expressed their frustration with the two governments.
“The fact that Mr. Saab was in the United States before my father is shameful,” said Christina Fadel, whose father, Tomio Fadel, is among Americans serving long sentences over what the US government considers trumped-up charges.
“This is further evidence that these Americans are being held hostage in Venezuela, and President Biden’s administration should recognize this and win their immediate release,” she added.
Saab is expected to make his first court appearance Monday in Miami, according to Justice Department spokesman Nicole Navas-Oxman, who expressed her gratitude and admiration for the Cabo Verde government for its professionalism and “perseverance in this complex case.”
Saab, 49, was arrested in the African archipelago while making a stopover on the way to Iran over what the Maduro government later called a diplomatic humanitarian mission that granted him immunity from prosecution.
It quickly became a revolutionary rallying cry, with the Venezuelan government saying months after his arrest that the low-profile businessman had earlier been appointed as the African Union’s representative – credentials whose validity and relevance US prosecutors questioned.
Rodriguez, standing in front of a sign reading “Free Alex Saab,” criticized what he said was “brutal aggression” by a US government that has been trying for years, without success, to oust Maduro. He said the Venezuelan government would condemn his illegal “extraction” in multilateral forums and in protest it would not participate in the next round of negotiations, though he declined to say the government would give up talks altogether.
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its regret for this serious violation of the human rights of a Venezuelan citizen, who has been employed as a diplomat and as our representative
Maduro’s government said in a statement. “This fact sets a dangerous precedent for international law.”
Government opponents, including opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, celebrated the prospect of seeing a top Maduro insider behind bars – something that would represent a moral victory after a series of agonizing defeats in the streets in an attempt to break the socialist leader’s grip on power. .
“What we Venezuelans feel today is justice,” said David Smolansky, the mayor of the Caracas region, who fled into exile after arrest warrants were issued for leading protests against Maduro in 2017. Justice had to be found outside our borders. Justice should prosecute all those guilty of corruption, crimes against humanity, hunger and the migration crisis.”
US authorities have been targeting Saab for years, believing he can solve the mystery of how Venezuela sells gold and tankers full of crude oil in violation of US sanctions. They also believe he holds many secrets about how Maduro, the president’s family and top aides pulled millions of dollars from government contracts for food and housing amid widespread hunger in oil-rich Venezuela.
Miami federal prosecutors indicted SABB in 2019 on money laundering charges linked to an alleged bribery scheme that took more than $350 million from a Venezuelan government’s low-income housing project.
Separately, the previous Trump administration sanctioned SABB for allegedly using a network of shell companies spread around the world – in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Hong Kong, Panama, Colombia and Mexico – to hide huge profits from a lack of inflated bids. Food contracts obtained through bribes and kickbacks.
The Trump administration alleged that some of Saab’s contracts were obtained by paying bribes to the children of Venezuela’s first lady, Celia Flores. Commonly known in Venezuela as “Los Chamos,” a slang for “children,” the three men are also under investigation by Miami prosecutors for allegedly forming part of a scheme to steal $1.2 billion from the state-owned Venezuelan Oil Company, two familiar people said. The US investigation told the Associated Press.
But while US officials have long described Saab as Maduro’s number one man, he has not been identified as such in court filings.
The previous Trump administration had made Saab’s delivery a top priority, at one point even sending a Navy warship to the African archipelago to monitor the captive.
in a. Saturday. Colombian President Ivan Duque praised Saab’s extradition, describing it as “a victory in the fight against drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption led by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.”
However, the Biden administration has downplayed Saab’s problems, saying he can defend himself in US courts and that his case should not affect the ongoing Norwegian-sponsored negotiations aimed at overcoming Venezuela’s long-running economic crisis and political tension.
The families of nine Americans imprisoned in Caracas have less hope that Saab’s legal troubles can be separated from hidden attempts at détente.
In addition to the Citgo 6 — who were sentenced last year to lengthy prison terms over a never-implemented plan to refinance billions in oil company bonds — include ex-US Marine Matthew Heath, who is being held on weapons-related charges linked to a presumed crime. A plan to sabotage refineries, two former Green Berets of Caracas are linked to a failed cross-border raid from Colombia to oust Maduro.
“In a very disappointing turn of events, American detainees in Venezuela are now being used as political pawns,” former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who traveled to Venezuela to try to secure the Americans’ release, said in a statement. “We had hoped for health visits with them, but now we’re afraid we won’t have the chance.”
RAE