The Daily Journal.- According to the Miami Herald , the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a second investigation against Nicolás Maduro, this time focused on “possible financial crimes.” This new case, being pursued from South Florida, raises the possibility that Maduro could face “additional charges beyond the narcoterrorism and weapons accusations already pending against him in a federal court in New York.”
The case is reportedly overseen by Miami prosecutor Michael Berger , a specialist in international criminal matters, according to sources cited by the U.S. newspaper.
Previously, CBS News had reported that “senior Justice Department officials ordered Miami prosecutors earlier this year to open a new criminal case involving Maduro.” This investigation reportedly directly involves Colombian businessman Alex Saab , who was recently deported from Caracas to Miami.
Regarding this matter, the Miami Herald stated that federal prosecutors and agents maintain a “significant interest” in the former minister because they believe he possesses “detailed knowledge of Maduro’s financial structure.”
The newspaper reported that the Southern District of Florida filed a new formal indictment against Saab for “participating in a money laundering conspiracy linked to the state-run CLAP food distribution program,” an assistance initiative that U.S. authorities have for years described as “a vehicle for corruption and illicit enrichment.”
This new indictment “builds on previous allegations surrounding CLAP and extends the alleged criminal conduct through January,” the month in which Nicolás Maduro was reportedly detained during a military operation carried out by Washington in Caracas. Shortly after that event, Saab was removed from his post as head of the Ministry of Industries.
Saab’s return to the orbit of the U.S. judicial system “places him once again at the center of a legal and political saga spanning several countries and administrations,” the newspaper noted. It is worth recalling that the businessman had already spent two years in U.S. custody after being extradited from Cabo Verde on money laundering charges, before receiving a presidential pardon from Joe Biden in 2023 and being returned to Venezuela as part of a prisoner exchange.
Now, with Maduro awaiting trial in New York, federal investigators “appear to be reassessing Saab’s potential value,” the newspaper concluded.
