2026年5月16日 / 美国东部时间晚上7:48 / 美联社 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
委内瑞拉政府周六表示，已将尼古拉斯·马杜罗的一名亲密盟友遣返美国接受司法程序。这名企业主在2023年作为囚犯交换协议的一部分被乔·拜登总统赦免，至今还不到三年。
这一决定对亚历克斯·萨博来说是彻底的反转：2020年他在海外被捕后，马杜罗曾竭尽全力将他带回国内。如今，这位出生于哥伦比亚的企业主——长期被美国官员称为马杜罗的“白手套”——可能需要出庭指证他的前庇护者。后者今年1月在美国军方突袭行动中被捕，目前因毒品指控在曼哈顿等待审判。
委内瑞拉移民当局周六在一份简短声明中未明确说明将萨博送往何处，但表示这一决定是基于美国的多项 ongoing 刑事调查。声明中仅将萨博称为“哥伦比亚公民”，这可能是呼应委内瑞拉法律禁止引渡本国公民的规定。萨博上次被捕后，马杜罗和代理总统德尔西·罗德里格斯曾声称，萨博是委内瑞拉外交官，当时他在前往伊朗执行重要人道主义任务的途中加油时被非法拘留。
美联社今年2月报道称，联邦检察官已耗时数月调查萨博在一项涉嫌行贿阴谋中的角色，该阴谋涉及委内瑞拉政府的食品进口合同。
据一名前执法官员透露，此次调查源于美国司法部2021年对萨博长期搭档阿尔瓦罗·普利多提起的诉讼。这起在迈阿密提起的诉讼，核心是马杜罗推出的所谓“CLAP计划”——该计划旨在为在恶性通货膨胀和货币崩溃时期挣扎求生的委内瑞拉穷人提供大米、玉米粉、食用油等生活必需品。
现年54岁的萨博通过委内瑞拉政府合同积累了巨额财富。但在马杜罗被赶下台后，该国新领导层不再待见他。
罗德里格斯今年1月3日接替马杜罗掌权后，将萨博降职，将其从内阁中开除，并剥夺了他作为寻求在委内瑞拉投资的外国公司主要渠道的角色。数月来，有关他被监禁或软禁的相互矛盾的新闻报道层出不穷。
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美国司法部未立即回应置评请求。
Venezuela says it deported Alex Saab, a key Maduro ally, to face legal proceedings in the U.S.
May 16, 2026 / 7:48 PM EDT / AP / CBS News
Venezuela’s government said Saturday it deported a close ally of Nicolás Maduro to face judicial proceedings in the U.S. less than three years after the business owner was pardoned by President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap.
The decision marks a stark reversal for Alex Saab, who Maduro fought tooth and nail to bring home after his previous international arrest in 2020. Now, the Colombian-born business owner, long described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s “bag man,” may be asked to testify against his former protector, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a shock raid by the U.S. military in January.
Nicolas Maduro, left, and Alex Saab stand together during an event marking the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. Jesus Vargas / AP
The Venezuelan immigration authority, in a short statement Saturday, did not explicitly say where it had sent Saab but said the decision was made based on several ongoing criminal investigations in the U.S. The statement’s reference to Saab only as a “Colombian citizen” may have been a nod to Venezuelan law, which prohibits the extradition of its nationals. Following his last arrest, Maduro and acting President Delcy Rodríguez claimed that Saab was a Venezuelan diplomat who had been illegally detained during a refueling stop while en route to Iran for an important humanitarian mission.
The Associated Press reported in February that federal prosecutors have been digging for months into Saab’s role in an alleged bribery conspiracy involving Venezuelan government contracts to import food.
The investigation stems from a 2021 case the Justice Department brought against Saab’s longtime partner, Alvaro Pulido, a former law enforcement official said. That prosecution, out of Miami, centers around the so-called CLAP program set up by Maduro to provide staples — rice, corn flour, cooking oil — to poor Venezuelans struggling to feed themselves at a time of rampant hyperinflation and a crumbling currency.
Saab, 54, amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts. But he fell out of favor with the country’s new leadership that took power following Maduro’s ouster.
Since taking over from Maduro on Jan. 3, Rodríguez demoted Saab, firing him from her Cabinet and stripping him of his role as the main conduit for foreign companies looking to invest in Venezuela. For months conflicting news accounts have circulated that he was imprisoned or under house arrest.
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The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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