Under the premise that he is a diplomat and special envoy of Venezuela, the government of Nicolás Maduro insists that the United States must immediately release businessman Álex Saab, imprisoned since 2020 and accused for allegedly being the figurehead of the Venezuelan president.
(Read also: Defense of Álex Saab, willing to exchange US prisoners in Venezuela)
This time, Caracas reiterated that Saab must return so be it “through a humanitarian exchange” or a “legal victory”, according to Foreign Minister Yván Gil, in an interview with a local media.
The idea of the “humanitarian exchange” has already been raised by his wife Camila Fabri de Saab, the defense and the members of the ‘Free Álex Saab’ movement, who in March argued that the citizen – also with Colombian nationality – he faces health problems due to oncological pathologies.
In Venezuela there are at least four US prisoners, among them, the Salvadoran-American lawyer Eyvin Hernández, detained on the border between Colombia and Venezuela in March 2022.
(Also read: The United States denies the alleged plan to exchange prisoners for Alex Saab)
Hernández sent a letter and video to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, but officials from that country claimed that, for now, the exchange was not under discussion.
Foreign Minister Gil said that Venezuela was “putting up the fight”, so sooner rather than later “Álex Saab is going to return (…) either through a humanitarian exchange, through a legal victory or through the recognition of the right international, but the mission of the government is that Saab returns safe and sound”.
(Also read: Why was Álex Saab’s wife given a diplomatic passport in Venezuela?)
But the government’s mission is for Saab to return safely
The United States has said that to consider any trade it must first conclude the Saab trial; however, a date has not yet been defined.
Likewise, Washington clarifies that other conditions must be guaranteed, such as free elections, before entering into negotiations such as the exchange of prisoners.
Saab, 51, has been detained in Miami since October 2021 when he was extradited from Cape Verde, and is accused of one count of money laundering that carries about 20 years in prison if found guilty.
(Read also: Venezuela warns that ruling against Saab puts relations with the US at risk.)
Last December, a federal judge in Miami denied Saab’s defense request to dismiss the case on the grounds that he enjoyed “diplomatic immunity,” a decision his defense appealed.
For its part, Venezuela insists that it is “a kidnapping” and that Saab’s role was to find ways for food to reach the country despite the sanctions imposed by the US.
ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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