The rise and subsequent expulsion of the Colombian businessman following his ties to Venezuela represents one of the most drastic turns in the country’s recent political history. / Photo: Screenshot after his recent arrival in Miami / Social Media
Guacamaya, May 19, 2026. Alex Saab went from being the most powerful financial cog in Chavismo to being deported by the Venezuelan government itself on May 16, 2026. His trajectory—marked by multimillion-dollar contracts, an international arrest, and a brief period heading public offices—has reached a climax with his return to a federal court in Miami after being disowned by those who once called him a “hero.”
His case is pivotal because it involves not only alleged individual corruption but also the business architecture of the Venezuelan state, particularly in imports, currency controls, and social programs like CLAP. For Chavismo, Saab was presented for years as a strategic operator, while for the United States, he was one of the main facilitators of corruption schemes.
A detailed timeline of his ties to Venezuela reveals the key stages that defined his rise and fall.
2011–2015: The Rise Under the Shadow of Power
Alex Saab’s initial links with the Venezuelan State date back to the final years of Hugo Chávez’s administration. Specifically, between 2012 and 2013, Saab received 159 million dollars to import construction materials intended for public housing. However, independent investigations revealed that he only delivered products worth an equivalent of 3 million dollars
In 2014, he married Italian model Camilla Fabri, with whom he has two daughters. She would later play an essential role in campaigns for his release and in managing public positions in Venezuela. As the Saab-Fabri couple’s economic assets grew, so did their closeness to Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle.
2016–2018: The Controversial CLAP System Scheme
During one of the most critical social and economic periods for the country, Saab became the central figure in the Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) system. Alongside his partner, Álvaro Pulido, they allegedly profited from multimillion-dollar food distribution contracts—a mechanism used to centralize imports amid shortages.
The system was criticized for overcharging the Venezuelan state by amounts ranging from 140 million to 204 million dollars. The allegations came from investigations by the NGO Transparencia Venezuela and the opposition-majority National Assembly, which cross-referenced contracts, invoices, and export records to determine that public funds were being moved through opaque structures.
2019–2021: From U.S. Indictment to a Cell in Cape Verde
The international legal net closed around Alex Saab starting in 2019, when U.S. authorities formalized their suspicions. On July 25 of that year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida charged him with laundering up to 350 million dollars through Venezuela’s currency control system. Later, it was revealed that Saab had secretly cooperated with the DEA and FBI until that year.
The following year, on June 12, 2020, Saab was arrested in Cape Verde during a technical stopover of his private jet while en route to Iran. To try to prevent his extradition, the Maduro government appointed him on December 24, 2020, as “alternate permanent representative to the African Union,” claiming diplomatic immunity—a claim not recognized by either the U.S. or the African nation.
2021–2023: Extradition, Prison, and a Diplomatic Swap
After a lengthy legal battle in Cape Verde lasting approximately 16 months, Saab was sent to Florida in October 2021. This occurred in parallel with political negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition in Mexico, from which the ruling party withdrew its participation as a form of protest against the measure.
During his U.S. trial, prosecutors dropped seven of the original eight charges, leaving only “conspiracy to commit money laundering.” Later, on December 20, 2023, the Joe Biden administration released Saab in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela and the extradition of “Fat Leonard,” a fugitive Malaysian military contractor.
2024–2025: The Brief Return as a Public Official
Upon returning to Caracas, Saab was received as a “hero of the fatherland” in a triumphant event alongside the entire senior leadership of the government led by Nicolás Maduro. A few days later, on January 15, 2024, Maduro appointed him president of the International Center for Productive Investment (CIIP) to attract foreign capital amid sanctions. He was later also appointed Minister of Industry and National Production.
His wife, Camilla Fabri—sought by Italian authorities for various financial crimes—also became part of Maduro’s power structure in Venezuela. As of June 2025, she was appointed Vice Minister for International Communication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also president of the Great Mission Return to the Fatherland, dedicated to the repatriation of Venezuelans.
2026: The Final Collapse and Deportation
The landscape changed drastically for Alex Saab following the U.S. military operation on January 3, 2026, which resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. Subsequently, on January 16, Delcy Rodríguez, in her role as acting president, dismissed him from both his ministerial position and the CIIP. His wife, Camilla Fabri, was also removed from all her posts.
In February, amid conflicting accounts and opacity, news emerged of Saab’s apparent capture in Caracas following joint operations between the United States and Venezuela. His final expulsion came on May 16, when the Autonomous Service of Identification, Migration, and Foreigners (Saime) reported the deportation of the businessman, now identified as a “Colombian citizen.”
Delcy Rodríguez defended the expulsion as a decision made “in Venezuela’s interest,” while the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, delivered the final blow to the Colombian businessman’s image by asserting that Saab’s Venezuelan nationality was “fraudulent” and that he operated with allegedly illegal identity documents issued in 2004.
Currently, Alex Saab is once again in federal custody in Miami, where he appeared on Monday, handcuffed and in prison uniform, to face a single charge of money laundering linked to a bribery scheme involving CLAP contracts. The case, which once united Caracas in his defense, now resonates in a new era of Chavismo that disowns the man who was once its chief financial operator.
