Venezuelan diplomat accused of corruption was US ‘law enforcement source’

A WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN AND close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is being tried in the United States on money-laundering charges, was a “law enforcement source” for the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to documents unsealed this week in a Florida court. The businessman, Alex Nain Saab Moran, 51, comes from a Colombian family of Lebanese descent. For the past decade, he has been one of a number of international investors who have done extensive business with the government of Venezuela.

Saab’s loyalty to the Venezuelan government was rewarded with numerous state contracts by the government of President Maduro. Maduro eventually appointed Saab deputy ambassador of Venezuela to the African Union. Critics claimed that Saab’s diplomatic appointment was meant to shield him from warrants for his arrest for money-laundering, which had been issued by numerous countries. The United States, in particular, accused Saab of helping to organize a sophisticated network of shell companies, in order to launder money on behalf of the Venezuelan government.

In June of 2020, as his private airplane was refueling at the island nation of Cape Verde, Saab was arrested by the local police, pursuant to an Interpol “red notice”, which identified him as an individual wanted by the United States government. Saab was on his way back to Venezuela from Iran, where he had traveled as a Venezuelan diplomat. For several months following Saab’s arrest, a team of Venezuelan government lawyers attempted to prevent his extradition to the United States. They failed, however, and the businessman was extradited on October 16, 2021. Read more of this post