Venezuelan official Alex Saab, a former businessman and close associate of ex-President Nicolás Maduro, was reportedly arrested in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of a joint operation between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities, according to a U.S. law enforcement source.
Saab, who was born in Colombia, was previously detained in Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the United States for more than three years on bribery charges before being granted clemency in 2023 in exchange for the release of Americans held in Venezuela.
Later on Wednesday, a lawyer for Saab, Luigi Giuliano, dismissed the arrest reports as “fake news,” and pro-government journalists in Venezuela also denied that Saab had been detained.
Giuliano told Venezuelan news site TalCual that Saab might appear publicly to address the situation but was consulting with the government about what had occurred.
Venezuela’s top lawmaker, Jorge Rodríguez, neither confirmed nor denied the reports at an evening press conference, saying the matter was not within his responsibilities and that he had no information on the possible arrest.
According to the U.S. official, Saab, 54, could be extradited to the United States in the coming days.
That development would mark a significant event following the capture of Maduro himself by U.S. forces in Caracas last month, and might indicate deeper cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement under interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy.
The U.S. official highlighted Rodríguez’s role in the joint operation, noting that as interim leader she oversees Venezuela’s law enforcement agencies.
The U.S. Justice Department and the White House have not yet commented.
Also arrested in the operation was Raúl Gorrín, head of Venezuela’s Globovision TV network, according to the official.
Before his 2023 clemency, U.S. authorities had accused Saab of siphoning roughly $350 million out of Venezuela through the United States as part of a bribery scheme tied to the country’s state-controlled exchange rate. Saab denied the charges and sought to have them dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity, but an appeals court had not ruled on that appeal at the time of his prisoner swap.
He returned to Venezuela at the end of 2023, where Maduro celebrated his loyalty to the socialist revolution and hailed him as a national hero. Maduro later appointed him industry minister, a post he held until he was removed last month by Rodríguez.