Post #1435

Venezuela successfully negotiated the release of Alex Saab, a government envoy who spent more than three years detained. Saab landed in Caracas on Wednesday afternoon and was greeted by his family and Venezuelan government officials. His release comes as a result of a negotiation between the Nicolás Maduro government and the Joe Biden administration that will see the release of up to 36 people, 10 of them US citizens, currently detained in Venezuela. The Maduro government envoy was arrested during a refueling stopover in Cape Verde in June 2020 on his way to Iran to negotiate food and fuel import deals amidst US sanctions. In October 2021, he was forcefully flown to Florida to face a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Venezuelan government and Saab’s defense lawyers have maintained that he was acting as a special envoy and therefore was subject to diplomatic immunity. Caracas viewed the detention of Saab as a violation of international law, tantamount to a “kidnapping” and his persecution as a politically motivated trial. Saab maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering. Caracas placed immense diplomatic pressure on Washington to secure his release, with the Venezuelan government delegation walking away from talks with the US-backed opposition in October 2021 when the envoy was taken to Florida and charged. https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-secures-release-of-govt-envoy-alex-saab/