Alex Saab, a 54-year-old Colombian-Venezuelan businessman and ally of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, was deported from Venezuela to the United States on May 16, 2026, authorities said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Saab was arrested in Caracas in February 2026 during a joint operation involving US and Venezuelan officials [1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10].
Venezuela justified the deportation by citing Saab’s Colombian citizenship, as Venezuelan law prohibits extradition of its nationals. "The deportation measure was adopted in consideration of the fact that the aforementioned Colombian citizen is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States," Venezuela’s immigration agency SAIME said [3]. Saab holds dual Venezuelan and Colombian nationality [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].
Saab was previously detained in Cape Verde in 2020 on money laundering and corruption charges and extradited to the US in 2021 [1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10]. He was released from US custody in December 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with Venezuela [1, 3, 5, 11, 6, 7, 10]. Maduro appointed Saab Venezuela’s Minister of Industry in 2024, but Saab was dismissed after Maduro was captured by US forces in January 2026 and interim president Delcy Rodriguez took power [1, 3, 4, 11, 6, 7, 9, 10].
US prosecutors allege Saab and his partner, Alvaro Pulido, laundered about $350 million through a scheme involving Venezuela's subsidized food aid program CLAP [3, 11, 7, 10]. US Department of Justice Assistant Criminal Chief A. Tysen Duva said, "Saab allegedly used the U.S. banking system to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from a subsidized food aid program originally designed to help the poor and earnings from illicit Venezuelan oil sales" [11]. Saab is suspected of acting as a frontman for Maduro’s regime and may cooperate with US prosecutors to strengthen cases against Maduro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 7, 8, 9, 10].
The deportation comes amid closer law enforcement cooperation between the US and Venezuela under interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who stated, "Deporting Saab to the U.S. is in the national interest" [1, 2, 4, 11, 9, 10]. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested by US forces in January 2026 and face charges including conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism in New York [1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 9]. Following Saab’s deportation, US prosecutors in Miami opened a new criminal investigation against Maduro in March 2026 [12].
Saab appeared in a US federal court in Miami on May 18, 2026, charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering [11]. Saab’s wife, Camilla Fabri, served as Venezuela’s deputy minister for international communication before being dismissed in February 2026 [3, 4, 7]. For years, Saab reportedly held secret meetings with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and helped identify corruption within Maduro’s circle [10].
