FBI and Venezuela’s intelligence agency also reportedly arrest billionaire media mogul Raúl Gorrín at same address
A close and powerful associate of the deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has reportedly been detained during a joint operation by Venezuela’s intelligence agency and the FBI.
Alex Saab, a wealthy Colombian-Venezuelan businessman long considered Maduro’s frontman, was removed from his position in Venezuela’s government a fortnight after US forces captured his ally on 3 January. In the early hours of Wednesday, the 54-year-old was reportedly detained by members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) at a luxury home in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
Raúl Gorrín, a billionaire media mogul who owns the Globovisión TV channel, was also reportedly detained at the same address.
There was no immediate confirmation of the arrests from Venezuela’s government but a US official claimed Saab had been detained as a result of collaboration between US and Venezuelan authorities. The official said they expected Saab to be extradited to the US in the coming days.
