Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads guilty to money laundering in US court

Alex Saab, a close ally of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a money-laundering charge linked to an alleged bribery scheme to secure lucrative public contracts in Venezuela.

As part of the plea agreement, Saab agreed to cooperate with ongoing federal investigations in the United States and to hand over 195 million dollars (some €168.9 million) derived from the corruption scheme.

Saab, 54, was deported to the United States in May by Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. US authorities have been investigating the Colombia-born businessman for more than a decade.

The money-laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. However, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a term at the lower end of the guideline range and to seek further reductions if his cooperation proves useful, including assistance in investigations targeting four co-defendants whose names have not been disclosed.

Saab was arrested in 2020 and later pardoned by Biden

Saab had already been charged in 2019, during Donald Trump's first administration. He was arrested in 2020 during a refuelling stop in Cape Verde, in what the Venezuelan government claimed at the time was a high-level humanitarian mission bound for Iran.

During his court appearance on Tuesday, Saab told Judge Kathleen Williams that he takes the antidepressant Zoloft every day along with other medication for what he described as "post-traumatic stress disorder" following his 2020 arrest.

The then president Joe Biden pardoned Saab in 2023 in exchange for the release of several US citizens imprisoned in Venezuela. The deal was part of a failed attempt by Biden's White House to persuade Maduro to hold free presidential elections.

The decision was sharply criticised by Republicans and by senior federal law-enforcement officials, who immediately opened new investigations into Saab over other alleged offences not covered by the pardon, whose scope was limited.

US long regarded Saab as Maduro's 'front man'

US authorities have for years described Saab as Maduro's 'bag man', a term used to refer to someone tasked with handling or moving money for another person. They could now call him to testify about the character of the former Venezuelan president, who is awaiting trial in Manhattan on drug-related charges after being captured in January during a US military operation.

The new legal proceedings against Saab and Maduro come as the Trump administration reshapes the United States' relations with Venezuela and focuses on tapping the country's vast oil reserves.

This month, Trump announced a partnership with Venezuelan oil tycoon Alejandro Betancourt under which the US government will secure a stake and access to cost-price crude shipments from fields with an estimated production potential of 65 billion barrels.