Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that former Venezuelan Minister of Industry and National Production Alex Saab, an ally and confidant of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Saab has been accused of participating in a sprawling international money laundering conspiracy involving the corruption and exploitation of a Venezuelan public welfare program.

The plea change comes after Saab pleaded not guilty earlier this year to claims that he was allegedly involved in a scheme to bribe Venezuelan public officials to secure lucrative Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción contracts to import food into Venezuela.

The DOJ has accused Saab and his partners of using shell companies, creating fraudulent invoices and falsifying shipping records and other documents to siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars that were intended to be used to purchase food for Venezuelans.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones confirmed the plea change in a post on X and said the Venezuelan also agreed to forfeit $195 million. Saab was previously granted clemency by former President Joe Biden.

It was not immediately clear if Saab was offered a plea deal, but he currently faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the crime. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.