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Maduro ally deported to US over alleged billion-dollar corruption scheme tied to oil, food program
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A close ally of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been deported by Venezuela to the United States, according to Venezuelan officials, to face federal charges accusing him of orchestrating a sweeping money laundering and bribery scheme tied to Venezuela’s state-run food program and oil industry.
Alex Nain Saab Moran, 55, of Colombia, a former minister of industry and national production under the Maduro regime, appeared in federal court in Miami Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Justice Department said Saab is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors allege Saab led a yearslong scheme beginning around 2015 to defraud a humanitarian program intended to provide food to impoverished Venezuelans.
He and his co-conspirators later allegedly sold billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan state-owned oil while circumventing U.S. sanctions, according to the Justice Department. Authorities say the proceeds were routed through U.S. bank accounts in an effort to conceal the transactions and further advance the scheme.
MADURO ALLY ALEX SAAB ARRESTED IN JOINT US-VENEZUELAN OPERATION, OFFICIAL SAYS
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (L) speaks to supporters next to Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab during a rally in Caracas on January 23, 2024. (GABRIELA ORAA/AFP via Getty Images)
«Alex Saab allegedly used American banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from a Venezuelan food program meant for the poor and proceeds from the illegal sale of Venezuelan oil,» Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement. «This is unacceptable. The Criminal Division will not allow foreign actors to exploit the American financial system and use it as a safe haven for the proceeds of their corruption.»
Beginning around 2015, Saab and his associates allegedly paid bribes to Venezuelan government officials to secure contracts tied to the country’s CLAP welfare program, which was intended to purchase and distribute food to vulnerable and impoverished Venezuelans.
Instead of delivering the promised food supplies, prosecutors allege the group used shell companies, fraudulent invoices and falsified shipping records to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from the program for their own personal gain.
TREASURY TARGETS OIL TRADERS, TANKERS ACCUSED OF HELPING MADURO EVADE U.S. SANCTIONS
Businessman Alex Saab walks through Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Around 2019, as sweeping U.S. sanctions crippled Venezuela’s oil exports and placed severe strain on the country’s finances, including its ability to pay Saab and his associates under the CLAP program, Saab and his partners allegedly exploited their corrupt ties to government officials to gain access to billions of dollars’ worth of oil owned by Venezuela’s state-run oil company.
Officials allege the group sold the oil under false pretenses and used the profits to sustain and expand the original food fraud scheme.
Saab and his associates reportedly laundered the allegedly stolen funds through U.S. bank accounts in an effort to conceal the money trail, giving American authorities jurisdiction to prosecute the case.
«When illicit proceeds are moved through the United States financial system, our courts have jurisdiction and our prosecutors will act,» U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) shakes hands with Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab in Caracas on January 15, 2024. (FEDERICO PARRA/AFP)
Saab was previously indicted in the U.S. in 2019 and extradited from Cabo Verde in 2021. He was pardoned by President Biden in 2023 as part of a prisoner swap, though prosecutors say the new case involves alleged conduct not covered by that pardon.
A Miami-based attorney for Saab declined to comment to The Associated Press.
If convicted, Saab faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The government is also seeking forfeiture of any property or proceeds allegedly obtained through the alleged criminal activity.
The case was investigated by a U.S. Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
venezuelan political crisis, colombia, saab, nicolas maduro, sanctions, crime world
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos impidió el ingreso de 84 buques comerciales con destino a Irán desde el inicio del bloqueo en Ormuz
El Ejército de Estados Unidos elevó a 84 el número de buques mercantes desviados en el estrecho de Ormuz como consecuencia del cierre perimetral impuesto en la zona, mientras la administración de Donald Trump mantuvo la tregua indefinida con Irán y continuaron las negociaciones indirectas entre ambos países para alcanzar un acuerdo de paz.
“A fecha de 18 de mayo, las fuerzas del Ejército de Estados Unidos han desviado 84 buques mercantes y han inmovilizado cuatro”, informó el Mando Central del Ejército estadounidense (CENTCOM) en un mensaje difundido en redes sociales.
La situación en el estrecho de Ormuz continúa bajo alta tensión después de más de un mes de restricciones marítimas impulsadas por Washington en uno de los principales corredores energéticos del mundo. Las autoridades iraníes cuestionaron las medidas estadounidenses y señalaron que el bloqueo marítimo y la incautación de embarcaciones iraníes representan una violación del alto el fuego alcanzado el 8 de abril.
El anuncio del CENTCOM coincidió con las declaraciones de Trump sobre la suspensión de un ataque militar previsto contra Irán. El presidente estadounidense afirmó que tomó la decisión tras pedidos de Qatar, Arabia Saudita y Emiratos Árabes Unidos, en medio de avances diplomáticos con Teherán.
“El Emir de Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, el Príncipe Heredero de Arabia Saudita, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, y el Presidente de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, me han pedido que pospongamos nuestro ataque militar planeado contra la República Islámica de Irán”, escribió Trump en su red social.
El mandatario estadounidense sostuvo que los líderes árabes le transmitieron que “se están llevando a cabo negociaciones serias” y que “se alcanzará un acuerdo que será muy aceptable para los Estados Unidos de América, así como para todos los países de Oriente Medio y más allá”.
Trump también remarcó que el eventual entendimiento incluirá “la prohibición de armas nucleares para Irán”. En el mismo mensaje agregó: “He dado instrucciones al Secretario de Guerra, Pete Hegseth, al Presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto, General Daniel Caine, y a las Fuerzas Armadas de los Estados Unidos, de que NO llevaremos a cabo el ataque programado contra Irán mañana (martes)”.
No obstante, el mandatario republicano advirtió que las fuerzas estadounidenses permanecerán listas para actuar si fracasan las conversaciones. “Les he dado instrucciones adicionales para que estén preparados para proceder con un ataque a gran escala contra Irán, en cualquier momento, en caso de que no se llegue a un acuerdo aceptable”, expresó.
Horas antes, Trump endureció el tono frente a Teherán durante una entrevista telefónica con el diario New York Post. “No estoy dispuesto a nada en este momento”, respondió al ser consultado sobre posibles concesiones vinculadas al programa nuclear iraní. Además, sostuvo que Irán “sabe lo que va a pasar pronto”, aunque evitó dar precisiones.
Desde Teherán, el Jefe de Estado iraní Masud Pezeshkian respondió que el diálogo con Washington no implica una renuncia a las posiciones iraníes. “La República Islámica de Irán entabla el diálogo con dignidad, autoridad y con el objetivo de preservar los derechos de la nación”, escribió en redes sociales.
El mandatario iraní añadió que su país “bajo ninguna circunstancia renunciará a los derechos legítimos del pueblo y del país”. También aseguró: “Con sensatez y con todas nuestras fuerzas, hasta el último aliento, serviremos al pueblo y salvaguardaremos los intereses y el honor de Irán”.
Las conversaciones entre Washington y Teherán continúan con Pakistán como intermediario. Islamabad encabeza el proceso diplomático desde el alto el fuego alcanzado el 8 de abril, aunque las diferencias entre las partes todavía impiden una segunda ronda formal de negociaciones.
El portavoz del Ministerio de Exteriores iraní, Esmaeil Baqaei, confirmó que los contactos diplomáticos siguen activos. Según la agencia estatal IRNA, Estados Unidos transmitió la semana pasada “una serie de puntos revisados y consideraciones” a través de Pakistán, en respuesta a una propuesta iraní previa compuesta por 14 puntos.
(Con información de Europa Press)
flags,podium,remarks,seal,us healthcare,us politics
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WATCH: Eye-popping illegal immigration stat prompts senator’s demand to ‘redouble’ deportations
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Testimony from a policy analyst at a libertarian think tank was unexpectedly highlighted by immigration hawks after he delivered an opening statement at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing featuring controversial Fairfax County prosecutor Stephen Descano.
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., examined several examples of allegedly lax prosecutions by Descano involving illegal immigrants with prior rap sheets — including a Sierra Leone national accused of murdering a young woman at a bus stop on U.S. 1.
In his opening remarks, Cato Institute immigration expert David Bier testified that the «way to fix Fairfax» is not to continue the «mass deportation» agenda of President Donald Trump.
«The first step would be to give up on the mass deportation fantasy,» Bier said.
SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR SET FOR CAPITOL HILL GRILLING AS SANCTUARY POLICIES FACE RECKONING
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano, center, listens to testimony during a hearing before a House Judiciary Subcommittee. (Tom Williams/CQ via Getty Images)
«About 1-in-5 Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or who lives with them — It would destroy neighborhoods, rip Americans away from their spouses, parents, friends, families, customers, employees, employers, nurses, nannies, and teachers.»
While Bier later added that he believes noncitizens who harm Americans should be deported, his earlier statement drew the attention of several immigration hawks, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Lee borrowed Bier’s logic to prove immigration hardliners’ point that mass deportation is the right solution:
«On the contrary: 20% of a wealthy DC suburb being illegal immigrants means we should redouble our efforts to deport them all,» Lee said.
Bier responded to Lee’s comments in a lengthy statement to Fox News Digital, arguing the Utah Republican failed to explain why mass deportation would benefit Americans in Fairfax County.
«What was the senator’s explanation for [his] statement? The senator never says why it would benefit the country to harm Fairfax County and the Americans who live there, so there’s nothing to rebut,» Bier said.
FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS VIEW LEGAL IMMIGRATION AS HELPFUL, FAVOR DEPORTING THOSE WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY
Cato Institute analyst David Bier testifies before Congress. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
«The senator is wrong to characterize the 20% as all illegal immigrants since half of them are just people who live with illegal immigrants, which is precisely my point.»
«Mass deportation would harm those Americans and many others by ripping them away from their spouses, parents, children, friends, family, employees, employers, customers, nurses, nannies, and teachers,» the immigration expert added.
Bier said mass deportation becomes more expensive and impractical as the population of illegal immigrants grows, meaning continuing on the current course will harm Americans.
«I would ask the senator: how many Americans would have to be hurt by mass deportation before he would reconsider his views?»
Reached for additional comment, Lee spokesman Billy Gribbin told Fox News Digital that the Utahn «believes in enforcing US law and deporting illegal immigrants — not making excuses for criminals who hurt Americans.»
Fox News Digital also asked DHS about the apparent statistical admission, and an agency spokesperson blamed Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s «reckless sanctuary policies» for making Fairfax and the rest of the Old Dominion a «hotbed for illegal alien criminals.»
«The stories of the victims and facts speak for themselves. The sanctuary politicians of Fairfax County have blood on their hands,» the spokesperson said.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin added separately that half the murders recorded recently in Fairfax were allegedly perpetrated by «illegals who shouldn’t have been in our country to begin with.»
«We have politicians who want to protect the criminals, President Trump is still protecting all of our neighborhoods,» Mullin said.
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Bier’s 1-in-5 statistic was also cited in a CATO document footnoted to the K Street firm Migration Policy Institute. MPI’s data showed an estimated 102,000-person «unauthorized» population in Fairfax — which has a census count of about 1.2 million as of 2020.
The top «countries-of-birth» on MPI’s list in that regard were El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru, while only 4% combined was recorded from Canada, Europe and Oceania.
illegal immigrants, deportation, immigrant rights, sanctuary cities, markwayne mullin, virginia, politics
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