WASHINGTON DC (RIA Novosti): The US Department of Justice confirmed to RIA Novosti the extradition of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab to the United States.
Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, extradited to the US, will appear before a US court on Monday, US Justice Department spokes-man Nicole Navas Oxman told RIA Novosti.
“He is expected to appear in court at a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge John O” Sullivan in the Southern District of Florida Court on Monday October 18 at 1 pm, “Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said.
According to her, the extradition took place “in full compliance with the relevant laws of Cape Verde” and court decisions. The US Department of Justice thanked Cape Verde for its help in this difficult matter, Oksman said.
In turn, the Ministry of Communications of Venezuela, after the news of Saab’s extradition, issued a statement condemning the “abduction of the diplomat.”
“Saab has become a victim because his detention is illegal.
They tortured and detained him for 491 days without an arrest warrant and due process of law, violating the laws of Cape Verde and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, ”- quotes Vice President of Communications, Culture and Tourism of Venezuela Freddy Nanes.
The statement notes that Venezuela “makes President Biden and the authorities of Cape Verde responsible for the life and physical integrity of Alex Saab and reserves the right to take appropriate action.”
Later, opposition leader Juan Guaido, commenting on the authorities’ decision to suspend negotiations, wrote on his Twitter account :
“The dictatorship has turned hunger into a weapon of public control and a business for its leaders, who are now accountable to justice. Because of the irresponsible decision in Mexico, they again shy away from attention to the problems of the country, where now 76.6% of the population suffers from poverty. “
Guaidó welcomed the decision of the Cape Verdean authorities to extradite Saab to the United States.
“We Venezuelans, who have witnessed a lack of justice for years, support and glorify the justice system in democracies like Cape Verde. Only in a democracy will justice prevail, ”he wrote in a series of tweets.
In mid-September, the Venezuelan government decided to formally include diplomat Alex Saab in the negotiating delegation at meetings with the opposition in Mexico City.
By that time, he had been in Cape Verde prison for over a year, where he was detained at a request from the United States.
On Saturday, he was extradited to the United States, where he is to stand trial in Florida on corruption charges, the entire process in the Venezuelan government called a kidnapping.
