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Michel E. Torres Corona, host of the Cuban state propaganda program Con Filo, reacted with indignation this Saturday, shortly after news broke of the deportation of Alex Saab from Venezuela to the United States, calling the episode "shameful" and directly questioning key figures of Chavismo.
The Administrative Service of Identification, Migration, and Foreigners of Venezuela (Saime) issued an official statement announcing the deportation of Alex Naim Saab Morán, a Colombian businessman who acted as a financial operator for the government of Nicolás Maduro.
The document stated that the measure was adopted because Saab "is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States of America, as is public knowledge."
Torres Corona specifically used that phrase, a Venezuelan legal term often employed by Maduro's government, ironically to highlight the contradiction between the official narrative that for years defended Saab as a victim and the implicit acknowledgment of his crimes.
"The 'public, notorious, and communicational' was the global campaign for the freedom of Alex Saab. At that time, he was a kidnapped diplomat, a special envoy who had managed to deliver food and medicine to Venezuela while evading sanctions," wrote the Cuban presenter in his Facebook post.
He then added: "The 'public, notorious, and communicational' fact is that, in December 2023, Saab was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the United States and Venezuela. And now they are sending him back, because it turns out he was indeed a criminal, and the gringos were right."
The most striking phrase of his text pointed directly at the leadership of Chavismo: "Enough already. It’s shameful. Either Maduro is corrupt or the Rodríguez are traitors. In any case, it’s all messed up. Let’s turn the page."
The reference to "the Rodríguez" refers to Delcy Rodríguez, Vice President of Venezuela, and Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly, who were central figures in the public defense of Saab and in the negotiations with Washington.
The case has a long history. Saab was accused in July 2019 by federal prosecutors in Miami of eight counts of money laundering related to the Venezuelan government's CLAP program.
He was arrested in Cabo Verde in June 2020 and extradited to the United States in October 2021.
In December 2023, the government of former president Joe Biden (2021-2025) released him in a prisoner swap for 10 American citizens detained in Venezuela, and chavismo welcomed him as a hero.
However, on February 4, Saab was arrested again in Venezuela during a joint operation between SEBIN and the FBI, as confirmed by the agency Reuters.
This Sunday, Venezuela formally handed him over to U.S. authorities, who transferred him to a federal prison in Miami.
Despite his outrage over the case, Torres Corona concluded his post by reaffirming his ideological stance with phrases like "Long live a free Cuba!" and "Homeland or death," which did not go unnoticed among those who follow the Cuban propagandist on social media.
Saab's testimony is considered crucial for the criminal cases opened against Maduro and Cilia Flores in New York for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, making his surrender a significant blow to the Venezuelan regime and its allies in the region.
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