A key Maduro ally accused of money laundering is extradited to the US

Alex Saab, a henchman of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan ruler, has been extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges,

a US official

confirmed to

news agency on Saturday

.

The fugitive from US justice was put on a plane chartered by the Department of Justice in

, where he was going for a humanitarian diplomatic mission, according to the Government of Mature.

The official who confirmed the news that had already been announced in the Cape Verdean press spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

In a file image from Thursday, September 9, 2021, a poster is shown in Caracas, Venezuela, calling for the release of Alex Saab, who was extradited to the United States on charges of money laundering. Ariana Cubillos / AP

A public relations firm representing Saab, who has Colombian nationality, indicated in an email that the businessman was taken from his home without notifying his lawyers.

In a statement released in Caracas on Saturday afternoon, the Maduro government denounced “the kidnapping of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab by the United States government in complicity with Cape Verdean authorities, who tortured him and arbitrarily held him prisoner for 491 days without an arrest warrant or due process, thereby violating the laws of Cape Verde and the Vienna Convention ”.

Through Twitter, the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, applauded the extradition of Saab, which he classified as "a triumph in the fight against drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption that has led to the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro."

A triumph in the fight against drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption that has led to the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro "

Iván Duque president of colombia

"Colombia has supported and will continue to support the United States in its investigation against the transnational crime network led by Saab," added Duque.

The response of the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, was immediate and also on Twitter stated that “unlike those who promote the production and trafficking of drugs as sustenance for the Colombian State and its economy, Alex Saab is an innocent Venezuelan diplomat, victim of kidnapping and violation of his human rights who has served our country against the immoral imperial blockade ”.

After Saab's extradition, the head of the Venezuelan delegation in the negotiations in Mexico, Jorge Rodríguez, announced that the Maduro government was interrupting the talks with the opposition, which began on August 13 in Mexico City and on October 17 they had a fourth session scheduled, as reported by the EFE news agency.

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Caracas said in this regard in its statement that this action

.

Last month, Maduro criticized the United States for the “kidnapping” and “torture” of Saab, a Colombian businessman whom prosecutors accuse of amassing a fortune through business on behalf of the Venezuelan government, which faces harsh sanctions from the States. United.

The U.S. authorities had targeted Saab for years, believing that it holds many secrets regarding the way Maduro, the Venezuelan president's family, and his main allies diverted millions of dollars from government contracts for food and housing in in the middle of a general crisis in Venezuela.

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However, his supporters, including the Maduro government and his allies in Russia and Cuba, consider his detention to be illegal and maintain that Saab was

But that argument failed to persuade the Constitutional Court of Cape Verde, which last month authorized his extradition after a year of having a dispute with Saab's legal team, including former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón and BakerHostetler, one of the offices of America's largest attorneys.

Federal prosecutors in Miami filed charges against Saab in 2019 for money laundering linked to

from a Venezuelan government affordable housing project.

Saab had already been sanctioned by the government of then President Donald Trump, allegedly for using a network of global shell companies - in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Hong Kong, Panama, Colombia and Mexico - to hide huge profits from food contracts. not tendered and overvalued obtained through bribes.

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"We hold the Cape Verdean authorities and the Government of President Biden responsible for the life and integrity of Alex Saab and we reserve ourselves as a sovereign nation the actions that we will take accordingly," said the Venezuelan Government.

Saab obtained some of the contracts by paying bribes to the adult children of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores, according to the Trump administration.

The three men, commonly known as 'Los Chamos' (or 'Los Niños'), are also being investigated by Miami prosecutors for allegedly being part of

, they told

two people with knowledge of the US investigations.

Although the US authorities have privately referred to Saab as a front man for Maduro, he is not singled out as such in court documents.

The Trump administration had made Saab's extradition a top priority and even

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For its part, the Maduro government has strongly criticized the Saab trial, describing it as a veiled attempt by the United States to change the regime in Venezuela.

However, the Biden Administration has downplayed the importance of the issues surrounding Saab.

He pointed out that the Colombian businessman can defend himself in the US courts and that his case should not affect the current negotiations promoted by Norway aimed at overcoming the economic crisis and the long-standing political conflict in Venezuela.

Last month, the Venezuelan government had included Saab in its negotiating team and the remaining envoys, when they arrived in Mexico, displayed posters that read 'free Álex Saab'.

With information from