The United States of America has released a Colombian-born prisoner, Alex Saab, from jail in a swap deal with 10 Americans detained in Venezuela and secured the return of a notorious fugitive who fled the American country.
It also secured the extradition of a Malaysian defence contractor, Leonard Francis, known as ‘Fat Leonard’ who fled to Venezuela while facing sentencing for orchestrating one of the biggest bribery scandals in the U.S. Navy history.
Mr Francis was arrested in Venezuela in 2022 following a manhunt after he removed an ankle bracelet during house arrest in the U.S. while facing sentencing.
He pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officials from 2004 to 2013 with tens of millions of dollars and gifts, including prostitutes and luxury travels to steer contracts to his company.
President Joe Biden had, in exchange, granted clemency to Mr Saab, a businessman accused of laundering money, and close ally – considered as a “bag man” for President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.
The latest swap follows months of negotiations between the U.S. and Mr Maduro’s government as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to free Americans wrongfully detained overseas.
Mr Saab’s release was a major concession to Mr Maduro, an authoritarian leader who is the target of a $15 million U.S. reward for anyone who brings him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The Colombian-born prisoner had been awaiting trial in Miami federal court on a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, related to an alleged bribery scheme in Venezuela that siphoned off $350 million.
The culprit, who has been accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of enabling corrupt profits by Venezuela’s autocratic president, has been held without bail since his extraction in October 2020 after his arrest in Cape Verde while travelling to Iran, where he was sent to negotiate oil deals on behalf of Mr Maduro’s government.
Mr Saab was also accused of helping to enrich Mr Maduro and his regime by orchestrating a vast corruption network to loot hundreds of millions of dollars from starving Venezuelans.
Last December, a federal judge rejected agreements that the criminal case against Mr Saab be dismissed on the claim that he had diplomatic immunity from Venezuela.
