Venezuela extradited a financial adviser of former President Nicolás Maduro to the US, a major escalation in Caracas’ purge of Maduro loyalists.
Colombia-born Alex Saab is accused of overseeing efforts to pilfer and launder billions of dollars on behalf of Maduro, whom the US arrested in a January military operation, replacing him with an interim leader who is more amenable to Washington’s demands.
US prosecutors hope Saab’s deportation will strengthen the criminal case against the former president, who Washington alleges led a cartel responsible for trafficking drugs into the US. Saab’s detention also points to the White House’s expanding custodianship of Venezuela, which US President Donald Trump has in recent weeks touted as his country’s 51st state.
