标签： South America

MIAMI — In a significant reversal, the U.S. Justice Department has reignited its investigation into Alex Saab, a prominent businessman and close associate of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, according to an Associated Press report. This development comes less than three years after President Joe Biden granted Saab a presidential pardon as part of a prisoner exchange agreement.

The renewed probe, conducted by federal prosecutors, focuses on Saab’s alleged involvement in a bribery conspiracy related to Venezuelan government contracts for food imports. Two former law enforcement officials, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, revealed that prosecutors have been examining Saab’s activities for several months.

Saab, a 54-year-old Colombian-born entrepreneur who amassed considerable wealth through government contracts, was previously described by U.S. authorities as Maduro’s primary financial conduit. His situation deteriorated significantly following the recent political transition in Venezuela that saw Maduro replaced by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who subsequently removed Saab from her cabinet and stripped him of his influential position.

The current investigation originates from a 2021 case brought by the Justice Department against Saab’s longtime business partner, Alvaro Pulido. The case centers on Venezuela’s CLAP program, a social welfare initiative established by Maduro to provide essential food items to impoverished citizens struggling amid hyperinflation and economic collapse.

This renewed scrutiny represents a dramatic turnaround for Saab, who had previously avoided prosecution for an unrelated bribery scheme thanks to Biden’s 2023 pardon, which secured the release of several Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. Legal experts note that bringing fresh charges against pardoned individuals is unusual and only permissible for crimes falling outside the specific scope of the original pardon.

Frank Bowman, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law, emphasized that Saab’s pardon was specifically tailored to a 2019 indictment and included conditions requiring him to remain outside the United States and refrain from committing further crimes against the country. “This is a voidable pardon,” Bowman noted.

The investigation unfolds against the backdrop of shifting U.S.-Venezuela relations and the Trump administration’s efforts to stabilize ties with the oil-rich nation. Should Saab be returned to U.S. custody, former law enforcement officials suggest he could become a valuable witness against Maduro, given his extensive knowledge of corruption within Maduro’s inner circle and previous cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Neither U.S. officials nor Venezuela’s acting government have commented on the ongoing investigation. Saab’s current whereabouts remain unknown following conflicting reports about his possible detention in Venezuela.

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has formally petitioned the nation’s Constitutional Court to reverse its suspension of an economic emergency decree that would empower his administration to implement tax increases without legislative approval. The urgent appeal comes amid a severe humanitarian crisis triggered by catastrophic flooding in northern Colombia.

During a televised Cabinet session on Tuesday, President Petro emphasized the critical need for immediate funding to address the devastation across Sucre and Córdoba provinces, where unprecedented rainfall has claimed at least 14 lives and displaced approximately 69,000 residents. The government requires tens of millions of dollars for comprehensive recovery operations.

“The most favorable outcome would be the revocation of the decree’s suspension,” Petro stated, highlighting the financial challenges confronting reconstruction efforts. This marks the administration’s second attempt to secure additional revenue streams after Congress rejected a proposed $4 billion tax reform package last year.

In late December, during judicial recess, Petro enacted the emergency decree citing multiple pressing needs—including countering escalating drone attacks by rebel groups against military installations and resolving outstanding healthcare provider debts. The Constitutional Court suspended the decree in January, contesting the characterization of these circumstances as unforeseen emergencies.

Interior Minister Armando Benedetti reinforced the administration’s position, asserting that “if the court lifts the suspension, we will obtain essential resources to manage this crisis effectively.”

Meteorological authorities attribute the flooding to two Caribbean cold fronts that produced exceptional rainfall and winds, with certain northern regions experiencing a month’s precipitation within one week. In Montería, Córdoba’s capital, residents navigated submerged streets by canoe to salvage water-damaged possessions.

Local resident Rodolfo Ortega described the extensive property damage: “Numerous household items have deteriorated beyond salvage. We’ve primarily recovered only clothing.”

The court’s decision will determine whether the government can bypass legislative channels to finance both disaster response and previously identified security and healthcare priorities.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa has been returned to his family residence in Maracaibo but remains under house arrest following a controversial recapture by security forces. The incident occurred mere hours after his initial release from an eight-month imprisonment.

Guanipa’s son, Ramón Guanipa, confirmed the development on his father’s social media account, stating that while the family felt “relieved” by his return home, they considered house arrest to still constitute “unjust imprisonment.” The opposition politician was originally detained in May 2025 on charges of terrorism and treason after challenging the disputed 2024 election results.

The dramatic sequence began Sunday when Guanipa was released alongside approximately 30 other political prisoners, according to Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal. Following his release, Guanipa reportedly met with families of other detainees and gave media interviews before being apprehended by what witnesses described as heavily armed, unidentified security personnel.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello justified the recapture by claiming “a person” had violated the conditions of their release, adding that “some politicians believed they could do whatever they wanted.” The government maintains that those detained face criminal charges rather than political persecution.

Guanipa’s Justice First party condemned the action as a kidnapping by “the repressive forces of the dictatorship” and held senior government officials personally responsible for his safety. The party has called for international pressure to secure his full release and end what they describe as systematic persecution of government critics.

The case highlights ongoing political tensions in Venezuela following the contested 2024 election, which many opposition figures and foreign governments rejected. Human rights organizations document that Maduro’s administration has frequently used detention to suppress dissent, particularly targeting high-profile opposition leaders like Guanipa, who was elected governor of Zulia in 2017 but barred from taking office.

Ecuadorian authorities have taken into custody the mayor of Guayaquil, the nation’s largest port city, on serious charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The arrest of Mayor Aquiles Álvarez on Tuesday marks a significant development in the country’s ongoing anti-corruption efforts.

Prosecutors confirmed that ten additional individuals were detained in connection with the case, including Xavier Álvarez, the mayor’s brother who serves as president of a prominent local soccer club. During coordinated raids in Guayaquil, law enforcement officials seized substantial evidence including electronic devices and significant amounts of cash.

The arrest has sparked allegations of political motivation from the mayor’s defense team. Attorney Ramiro Garcia publicly stated that he had not received proper documentation of the case against his client, characterizing the proceedings as potential ‘political persecution.’

Complicating matters, authorities noted that Álvarez was not wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor at the time of his detention, which had been mandated in a separate investigation regarding alleged illegal sales of subsidized gasoline. The mayor has consistently denied all corruption allegations against him.

Álvarez, a 41-year-old former business owner whose company operates gas stations and distributes fuel in Guayaquil, represents the Citizen’s Revolution party led by exiled former President Rafael Correa. Elected to a four-year term in 2023, his arrest occurs against the backdrop of escalating violence in Ecuador, where murder rates have increased fivefold since 2020 as international drug cartels battle for control of the country’s strategic ports.

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office announced Monday it will pursue corruption charges against Ricardo Roa, president of state-owned oil giant Ecopetrol, alleging misconduct during his tenure as financial manager for President Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign.

Prosecutors assert they possess substantial evidence demonstrating Roa facilitated illegal campaign financing practices, including exceeding statutory spending limits. The charges extend beyond campaign finance violations to include influence peddling related to Roa’s current position at Ecopetrol.

According to investigative findings, Roa allegedly directed lucrative Ecopetrol contracts to a company whose owner provided him with a luxury Bogota apartment at significantly below market value. The oil executive has vehemently denied all allegations, maintaining his innocence regarding both the campaign finance accusations and contract steering claims.

The case emerges against a backdrop of ongoing electoral scrutiny. Last November, Colombia’s National Electoral Council imposed financial penalties on Roa and two other campaign administrators for purported campaign finance violations, including accepting funds from illicit sources.

The investigation has drawn in multiple figures close to the president. Notably, Nicolas Petro, the president’s son currently under investigation for money laundering, previously testified that drug trafficking proceeds were funneled into his father’s campaign. Additionally, a government contractor with paramilitary connections allegedly made substantial donations to the campaign.

President Petro has characterized the allegations as politically motivated attempts to destabilize his administration. The developments unfold as Colombia prepares for congressional and presidential elections, with Petro advocating for electoral support for candidates backing his constitutional reform agenda and economic policies.

In a significant maritime enforcement operation, U.S. military personnel have boarded the Aquila II, a sanctioned oil tanker, in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel’s movements from the Caribbean Sea. The Pentagon confirmed the intervention on Monday, characterizing it as a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction” against a vessel operating in defiance of established sanctions.

The Aquila II, a Panamanian-flagged tanker under U.S. sanctions for transporting illicit Russian oil, has been monitored by authorities for its suspicious activities. According to maritime tracking experts, the vessel employed ‘running dark’ tactics—deliberately disabling its radio transponder—to conceal its location throughout much of the past year. Owned by a Hong Kong-registered company, the tanker was one of at least 16 vessels that departed Venezuela’s coast following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro last month.

While the Pentagon’s statement did not explicitly connect the operation to Venezuela, the context suggests broader efforts to enforce oil sanctions. The Trump administration has intensified measures to control Venezuela’s oil production, refining, and global distribution since Maduro’s ouster in a January 3rd raid. U.S. officials view vessel seizures as both an enforcement mechanism and potential revenue source for rebuilding Venezuela’s devastated oil industry and economy.

Current data indicates the Aquila II was not carrying crude oil at the time of interception, unlike previous tanker seizures linked to Venezuelan oil smuggling operations. The operation also aligns with broader U.S. efforts to restrict oil flows to Cuba, which relies heavily on shipments from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico. President Trump recently signed an executive order imposing tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, significantly impacting Mexico’s role as Cuba’s petroleum lifeline.

In a concerning development for Venezuela’s political landscape, opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa has reportedly been forcibly taken by armed individuals mere hours after his release from an eight-month detention. The incident occurred in the Los Chorros district of Caracas, according to statements from Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

Machado detailed on social media that heavily armed men wearing civilian clothing arrived in four vehicles and violently apprehended Guanipa, who leads the center-right Justice First party. The abduction marks a dramatic reversal after Guanipa was among approximately thirty political prisoners freed on Sunday, as documented by Foro Penal, an organization supporting Venezuela’s political detainees.

Guanipa’s political journey has been marked by ongoing tensions with the government. Elected governor of Zulia region in 2017, he was prevented from assuming office after refusing to swear allegiance to President Nicolás Maduro’s National Constituent Assembly. His legal troubles intensified when he faced accusations of terrorism and treason for disputing the 2024 election results, ultimately leading to his capture by security forces in May 2025 after a period in hiding.

The Justice First party has unequivocally labeled the incident a kidnapping orchestrated by ‘the repressive forces of the dictatorship.’ Eyewitness accounts from those present describe weapons being aimed at the group before Guanipa was forced into a vehicle. The party has publicly held three senior government officials—Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello—directly responsible for Guanipa’s safety and wellbeing.

This event occurs against the backdrop of continued tensions between the Venezuelan government and opposition groups, which maintain that Maduro’s administration has systematically employed arbitrary detentions to suppress dissent and silence critics. The international community faces renewed calls to intervene and demand both Guanipa’s immediate release and an end to the persecution of opposition figures in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s political landscape witnessed dramatic developments this week as Juan Pablo Guanipa, a key ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado, was reportedly seized by armed operatives mere hours after his release from detention. The incident represents the latest escalation in the country’s ongoing political crisis.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab’s office formally requested judicial authorities to revoke Guanipa’s precautionary measures, citing alleged violations of his release conditions. While the statement sought house arrest instead of detention, it provided no specifics regarding the purported violations during Guanipa’s brief period of freedom.

The situation unfolded dramatically when Machado reported that Guanipa had been ‘kidnapped’ by heavily armed individuals in civilian clothing who arrived in four vehicles and violently apprehended him in a Caracas neighborhood. This account was corroborated by Guanipa’s son, Ramón, who described approximately ten unidentified assailants intercepting his father.

Guanipa had spent over eight months in custody following his late May arrest, when Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused him of participating in a ‘terrorist group’ allegedly plotting to boycott legislative elections—charges his family vehemently denied as politically motivated suppression.

His initial release came as part of a government initiative that freed several prominent opposition figures on Sunday, including attorney Perkins Rocha and organizer María Oropeza—whose 2024 arrest by military intelligence officers was livestreamed as they broke into her home. The releases followed mounting international pressure and a visit from UN Human Rights representatives.

The acting government of Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after Nicolás Maduro’s extraordinary capture by US forces on January 3rd, had announced on January 8th its intention to release significant numbers of political detainees. However, the process has drawn criticism for its slow implementation despite the ruling party-controlled National Assembly debating an amnesty bill that could potentially free hundreds.

Alfredo Romero of prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal expressed grave concern over Guanipa’s disappearance, noting the absence of clear information regarding his captors. The organization had confirmed at least 30 releases on Sunday, with freed individuals joining families in emotional reunions where chants of ‘We are not afraid!’ echoed outside detention facilities.

Venezuelan authorities have released prominent opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa after eight months in detention, marking a significant development in the country’s ongoing political tensions. Guanipa, a key ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado and former vice-president of the National Assembly, was detained in May 2025 on charges of terrorism and treason following his challenge of the disputed 2024 presidential election results.

The release comes amid a gradual prisoner liberation process initiated by Venezuela’s interim government following the January capture of President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. authorities. Maduro currently faces drug trafficking charges in New York courts.

Guanipa’s son, Ramón Guanipa, confirmed the development through social media, expressing both relief and continued concern. “Our entire family will be able to hug again soon,” he wrote, while cautioning that “hundreds of Venezuelans remain unjustly imprisoned.”

According to Foro Penal, a Venezuelan organization providing assistance to political prisoners, nearly 400 detainees have been released since the interim government’s January 8 promise to free “a significant number” of prisoners. The organization’s president, Alfredo Romero, confirmed at least 30 individuals were freed on Sunday alone, including Guanipa and other notable figures such as Perkins Rocha, Jesús Armas, and Luis Tarbay.

The release of political prisoners was among the key demands made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who described such actions as “a very important and smart gesture” from Venezuelan authorities. Despite these developments, the interim government has proceeded cautiously, releasing detainees in small groups rather than implementing mass liberations.

Guanipa’s political history includes his election as governor of the Zulia region, though he was barred from assuming office after refusing to swear an oath before Maduro’s National Constituent Assembly. His detention in May 2025 followed what opposition leader Machado characterized as “an act of state terrorism,” with security forces tracking him down while he was in hiding.

The release represents ongoing negotiations between Venezuelan political factions and international stakeholders, though many remain skeptical about the interim government’s commitment to comprehensive reform.