Former Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads not guilty in Miami federal court

Venezuela admin July 24, 2026 0 Comments

Former Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads not guilty in Miami federal court

Former Venezuelan minister Alex Saab pleaded not guilty Friday to federal money-laundering and related charges, formally launching the latest U.S. prosecution of one of former strongman Nicolás Maduro’s closest allies.

The plea was entered by Saab’s attorneys during a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Lauren F. Louis in federal court in downtown Miami. Saab, 54, did not attend the hearing, and his lawyers requested that the case be tried before a jury. The judge did not set a trial date or address the issue of bail.

Federal prosecutors have charged Saab with money laundering, conspiracy to conduct financial transactions involving illicit proceeds and concealing the origin of funds they say were derived from corrupt dealings tied to the Venezuelan government.

Friday’s hearing marked Saab’s second appearance before a Miami federal court in less than three months. He first appeared on May 18, two days after being deported from Venezuela to the United States following the Jan. 3 U.S. operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture in Caracas. Prosecutors said at the time that Saab faced a new criminal case separate from the money laundering prosecution that had previously brought him to the United States.

Saab, a Colombian businessman who became one of Maduro’s most trusted financial operators before being appointed Venezuela’s minister of Industries and National Production, has long been accused by U.S. authorities of helping manage complex international financial networks used to move money on behalf of the Venezuelan government. Prosecutors allege those operations relied on shell companies, fraudulent contracts and financial transactions designed to disguise the origin of illicit proceeds.

His latest return to U.S. custody came after a dramatic legal and political journey spanning several years.

Saab was arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 while his plane stopped to refuel and was extradited to the United States in October 2021 to face federal money-laundering charges. After spending more than two years in federal custody in Miami, he was released in December 2023 during the Biden administration as part of a prisoner exchange with Venezuela and returned to Caracas, where Maduro welcomed him as a hero and later named him to his cabinet.

That chapter ended after the Jan. 3 operation that led to Maduro’s capture and the collapse of his government. Saab was deported to the United States on May 16 and transferred to the Federal Detention Center in Miami to face the newly unsealed charges.

The indictment says Saab participated in a scheme to launder money and conceal the source of funds through financial transactions connected to Venezuelan government contracts. According to previous court filings, prosecutors contend the conspiracy involved the payment of bribes to obtain lucrative contracts, the use of shell companies and fraudulent invoices to disguise transactions, and the movement of proceeds through the U.S. financial system.

The case is separate from the federal narcotics prosecution against Maduro now pending in New York. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in federal court there earlier this week, where the judge in the case proposed beginning their trial in June 2027 on charges related to narcotics trafficking.

Saab’s prosecution is expected to draw significant attention because of his longstanding role as one of the Venezuelan government’s principal financial operators. U.S. investigators have previously described him as a central figure in networks used to secure imports, finance government programs and move money internationally during years of U.S. sanctions.

No future hearings were scheduled during Friday’s proceeding. Defense attorneys entered Saab’s plea on all counts, preserving his right to challenge the government’s charges before a jury.