Alex Nain Saab Morán, a 54-year-old Colombian businessman and former Minister of Industry in the Venezuelan chavist regime, pleaded guilty this Tuesday before a federal court in Miami to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, in a scheme involving bribery and fraud that diverted hundreds of millions of dollars through contracts linked to the Venezuelan food and medicine distribution program known as CLAP over nearly a decade.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the statement was heard by federal judge Kathleen M. Williams in the Southern District of Florida. Saab faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although the sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Saab organized a bribery scheme targeting Venezuelan public officials so that entities secretly controlled by the conspirators could obtain government contracts under CLAP, a program for distributing subsidized food and medicine boxes to the population. The contracts were not fully executed; instead, those involved resorted to shell companies, fake invoices, and fraudulent shipping records to siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars.
Saab also admitted to using shell companies outside of Venezuela to move illicit profits globally, including through the U.S. financial system. As part of the plea agreement, Saab accepted the forfeiture of 195 million dollars in criminal proceeds and agreed to cooperate with ongoing federal investigations, including his potential collaboration in cases against four unidentified co-defendants.
The federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, Jason A. Reding Quiñones, emphasized the progression of the case: “In December 2023, President Biden granted clemency to Alex Saab while he awaited trial in this district, and Saab was released from federal custody and returned to Venezuela. But that was not the conclusion of the story. Our office built a new criminal case, secured a new indictment in January 2026, and, working with our federal and international partners, brought Saab back before a federal court in Miami on May 18.”
The FBI director, Kash Patel, was emphatic: "Criminals like Alex Saab, who stole from the Venezuelan people and worked to exploit and misuse American financial institutions, will be held accountable by this FBI."
The judicial history of Saab is long. He was first accused in July 2019 by prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida in a money laundering case linked to CLAP involving approximately 350 million dollars. Detained in Cape Verde in June 2020 during a stopover, he was extradited to the United States in October 2021. Two years later, President Biden granted him clemency as part of a prisoner exchange with Venezuela, and Saab returned to Caracas in December 2023.
The landscape changed radically after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January 2026. The acting president Delcy Rodríguez dismissed Saab from his duties that same month and later authorized his deportation to the United States on May 16, 2026. Saab appeared in a Miami court two days later under a new charge, initially pleaded not guilty in July, and changed his stance this Tuesday.
The processing is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative, established by President Donald Trump through Executive Order 14159 to combat cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations, among other criminal networks. The case is being investigated by the DEA division in Miami, with assistance from the FBI and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in that city.
The administrator of the DEA, Terry Cole, described the plea agreement as "a significant disruption of the illicit financial networks that support narcoterrorism and political corruption," and warned that pressure on those who operated alongside chavismo will not let up.
Related videos:
Filed under: