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The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on Friday the merger of the Ministry of Industries and National Production with the Ministry of National Commerce into a “new entity” that will be led by Luis Antonio Villegas, thereby replacing Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close collaborator of former president Nicolás Maduro, in the cabinet.
He made the announcement through his Telegram account, where he expressed his gratitude to Saab for "his service to the homeland" and assured that he "will take on new responsibilities."
Villegas had already been serving as the Minister of National Commerce since his appointment by Maduro in February 2024.
Saab was appointed by Maduro as the head of the Ministry of Industries and National Production in October 2024. He previously served as the president of the International Center for Productive Investment of Venezuela.
This businessman, born in Barranquilla (Colombia) and of Lebanese descent, was arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 and later extradited to the United States, where he was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and being a "frontman" for the Venezuelan government.
For this case, he remained imprisoned in the United States from October 2021 until December 2023, after receiving a presidential pardon from then-president Joe Biden. In March 2024, U.S. justice dismissed the charges against him.
During his detention, his wife, the Italian Camilla Fabri, became the public face of the campaign promoted by Maduro's government to secure his release. Currently, Fabri heads the Mission Return to the Homeland, the state program responsible for managing the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants.
Although he always maintained a low profile as a businessman, Saab gained notoriety after in 2017 former prosecutor Luisa Ortega accused him of being one of Maduro's front men.
In recent years, he has been linked to several companies, including Group Grand Limited (GGL), which has been accused of supplying overpriced food to the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP), a program promoted by chavismo.
The initial report was published by the investigative portal Armando.info, which revealed that Saab was part of a money laundering network connected to fictitious food exports to Venezuela.
In her first ten days as acting leader, following Maduro's capture by U.S. forces during the military operation in Caracas, Delcy Rodríguez has announced several changes to the cabinet.
This Friday, he appointed Freddy Ñáñez as Minister of Ecosocialism, Aníbal Coronado as the new head of Transportation, and Miguel Ángel Pérez Pirela to lead the Department of Communication and Information, in what he has called a "ministerial revolution."
Days earlier, he appointed Captain Juan Escalona, a member of Maduro's security team, as Minister of the Office of the Presidency, and former Central Bank president Calixto Ortega as the new Vice President of Sectoral Economy.
He also dismissed the president's head of security, Major General Javier Marcano Tábata, and appointed General Gustavo González López as the commander of the Presidential Honor Guard and head of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM).
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