2023-12-20 21:58:29
– Exchange of prisoners between Washington and Caracas
Alex Saab, a close friend of Nicolás Maduro, accused of serious embezzlement by the American justice system, was pardoned as part of a prisoner exchange on Wednesday.
Published today at 10:58 p.m. Updated 32 minutes ago
Nicolás Maduro welcomes businessman Alex Saab upon his arrival in Caracas on December 20, 2023.
AFP
The United States announced on Wednesday the release of ten Americans detained in Venezuela, in exchange for which Joe Biden pardoned Alex Saab, a close friend of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accused of serious embezzlement by the American justice system.
The Venezuelan government expressed in a press release its “joy” after the release of “diplomat Alex Saab, unjustly detained in an American prison”, and judged that it was a “victory”. The businessman’s arrival in Caracas was broadcast live on Venezuelan public television. “I want to welcome this courageous man (…). After 1,280 days of sequestration, the truth has triumphed,” declared Nicolás Maduro, who welcomed Alex Saab at the Presidential Palace in Caracas.
The American president does not mention Alex Saab in his press release. His release was an “extremely difficult” decision to make, according to a senior White House official. Joe Biden indicated that of the ten Americans released, six were detained by Venezuela “without basis”, and he said he was “grateful that their ordeal is over”. The American president also announced that Venezuelan authorities had handed over to the United States a fugitive, Leonard Francis, involved in a huge corruption scandal affecting the American navy.
The agreement between the United States and Venezuela, in which Qatar played a mediating role, also sees Caracas release at least 20 political prisoners. Among the freed Venezuelans is a group of trade unionists arrested in July 2022 during protests for wage increases. They were sentenced to 16 years in prison during a trial for “conspiracy” and “conspiracy to commit a crime”.
A Venezuelan opposition figure, Roberto Abdul, accused of “treason” and “conspiracy with a foreign power”, also found freedom as part of this agreement.
Diversion
Any discussion with the Caracas regime is politically undermined for Joe Biden, whom the Republican opposition often accuses of being too lenient with Venezuela.
Alex Saab, considered close to President Nicolás Maduro, had been detained in the United States since October 2021. The man, whom many experts consider to be the kingpin of the financial affairs of the Nicolás Maduro regime abroad, had been extradited in October 2021 from Cape Verde to the United States. Of Colombian origin, he is accused by American justice of having set up a system of diversion of food aid to Venezuela, for the benefit of the socialist leader and his government.
The senior White House official defended the decision to release him: “Basically, it’s ten Americans and one fugitive exchanged for one person returning to Venezuela.” The fugitive in question is Malaysian businessman Francis Leonard, nicknamed “Fat Leonard”, who was therefore handed over to the American authorities by Caracas.
Under house arrest in California, he cut off his electronic bracelet and fled before being arrested in Venezuela in September 2022. This military subcontractor had pleaded guilty in 2015 to having bribed US Navy officers to obtain contracts for its shipyards. He is also accused of having vastly overcharged for work done on American ships.
The man, according to a senior White House official, offered his contacts in the US Navy cash, trips, the services of prostitutes and various gifts such as “Cuban cigars, Kobe beef or suckling pigs.
One of the senior American officials assured that there had “never been any question” of easing sanctions against Venezuela during discussions on the exchange of prisoners. He made clear that any decision on U.S. sanctions depends on progress in political pluralism in Venezuela. “There remains a lot of work and coordination to be done with all the forces present in Venezuela for the holding of open elections in 2024,” said another senior American official.
There has been a warming between Washington and Caracas in recent months. In October, the Venezuelan government and opposition reached an agreement authorizing the presence of international observers during the 2024 presidential elections. Washington had eased for six months its economic sanctions, imposed in 2019 to try to oust Nicolás Maduro from power. In the process, Caracas released five political prisoners.
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