Detained Colombian businessman Alex Saab responded to CNN's questions in a letter written from Cape Verde.
(CNN Spanish) -
The Constitutional Court of Cape Verde considered the process against Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman whom the United States accuses of being a front man for the questioned president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and whose extradition is requested on charges of laundering. of money.
In a 194-page resolution published on Tuesday, the highest court of constitutional jurisdiction dismissed as inadmissible an appeal filed on May 28 by Saab's defense - which, he told CNN, alleged alleged violations of fundamental rights - against the Court Supreme Justice of Cape Verde, which in March approved the extradition to the United States of the Colombian businessman.
Saab's defense told CNN that they are "studying the 200-page decision to understand how the Court reached its conclusion."
Without giving details, the defense indicated: "We will make several presentations to try to block the extradition within the next 48 hours."
The Barlavento Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice had already authorized Saab's extradition to the United States.
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Saab, who is imprisoned in Cape Verde, was arrested in June 2020 due to an Interpol red alert when he was traveling to Iran and made a stopover in the African island country.
In a subsequent statement, the Venezuelan government assured that Saab had diplomatic status and that he was heading a mission as a special envoy to acquire basic supplies in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.
The accusations against Alex Saab
According to a statement from the US Department of the Treasury on July 25, 2019, Saab benefited from several "overpriced contracts", including those under the Local Supply and Production Committee program and Venezuela's government food subsidy program. , and participated in illicit operations with the gold of that country.
"We are targeting those behind Maduro's sophisticated corruption schemes, as well as the global network of shell companies that profit from the food distribution program controlled by the Armed Forces," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin noted in that statement. official note.
The Colombian businessman's lawyers maintain that their client is innocent and that he has not committed any crime in any country.