The arrest of Alex Saab in Cape Verde could easily be categorized as one of the glaring missteps of the United States government. Justice Department lawyers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents have been investigating Saab’s activities for quite some time, in our opinion, long enough to build a watertight case to put this Colombian thug, his narco partner Germán Rubio, and his closest family/associates behind bars. Yet, the Justice Department and DEA have failed to act. One of Saab’s sons lived in the United States for years (whose pennies did he live on?), while Saab’s money launderers operated in Florida for years. It would cost Saab’s legal advisor a fortune to provide legitimate evidence for the funds received. It should have been as easy as shooting fish in a barrel; unfortunately, it has not. He remains there, in Cape Verde, as his unfortunate defense states, “…in custody for over 440 days…,” and yet the Justice Department has yet to receive the extradition request from the kangaroo courts and is filing for extensions. Fortunately, Judge Bárbara Lagoa found merit in granting a Motion for Extension in the case (Case USCA11: 21-11083).
Just the other day, while conducting research on another matter, we revisited the video where Saab made his first appearance in Venezuela. At that time, he was not a “diplomat.” He wasn’t even Venezuelan. He sat there, dressed in a cheap suit, alone, like all the other corrupt thugs vying for business with Chavismo, waiting, just waiting to be called, to sign the first of many acquisition contracts. That first deal was worth about $685 million for building housing units (which he never constructed). Almost half of which was laundered through U.S. banks. At that point, as has been stated, he was not Talleyrand but an aspiring bolichico, wringing his dirty hands at the prospects. Crucially, the setup of his first acquisition deal was already controlled by Germán Rubio under his supposed identity of Álvaro Pulido Vargas, as revealed by this site in our first investigation in 2013.
Neither was the narco-senator Piedad Córdoba, and Saab’s godfather (Nicolás Maduro) did not have the power he possesses today. The words of Juan Manuel Santos at that conference were strident and as embarrassing as those of Hugo Chávez. So no, gentlemen of Baker & Hostetler, Saab is not “a diplomat of Venezuela,” no matter how much you would like to ground your silly assertions with “…Russia and Iran have publicly recognized Mr. Saab’s status as a Venezuelan diplomat…” Saab was elevated to diplomatic status post facto; therefore, the recognition by Russia and Iran merely reveals the scant adherence to due process and the rule of law in those autocracies.
While Judge Lagoa has just ruled in his favor, it is shocking to read that the Justice Department lawyers need more time to prepare their response. Prosecutors must continue pressing Baker & Hostetler for evidence that they are not employed/retained/managed by the Government of Venezuela. In the same investigative line, I should be demanding inquiries into the origin of the funds received, as every last cent that Saab has is a product of corruption, or worse, a byproduct of drug trafficking.
The fact that both the Trump and Biden administrations have had to wait so long to bring Saab to the U.S. speaks volumes about a) Venezuela’s relevance in their foreign policy, b) the sheer deterioration of their soft power that a backwater of three semi-deserted islands off the coast of Africa can indefinitely delay the Justice Department’s criminal investigations, and c) the absolute ineffectiveness of the U.S. State Department. Given the events in Afghanistan and regardless of the delayed developments in this case, we remain skeptical about ever seeing Saab face justice from the Justice Department.