Former Venezuelan Industry Minister Alex Saab being escorted by DEA agents upon his arrival at Opa-locka airport in Miami-Dade County (USA) on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Photo: Anthoni Belchi/EFE.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)— The Venezuelan government reported the deportation of former Minister for Industry and National Production Alex Saab on Saturday, May 16.
In a brief statement issued by Venezuela’s Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Foreigners (SAIME) and shared across official social media channels, authorities specified that the deportation was carried out “in compliance with the regulatory provisions of Venezuelan migration legislation.”
The official release did not specify Saab’s destination or detail how a deportation could legally occur given that Venezuela has no extradition treaty with the United States. However, media reports indicate that Saab was stripped of his Venezuelan citizenship to facilitate the measure, as Venezuelan law prohibits the extradition of nationals. The EFE news agency subsequently confirmed his arrival at Opa-locka Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on Saturday night.
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Media narratives and international reaction
Corporate media outlets have portrayed the news as “new evidence” of alleged plans by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez to remove any trace of President Nicolás Maduro’s influence from the government. However, experts claim that reality shows the current administration is formed by core Chavista leaders. The US propaganda machine has also used the development to build up the smear campaign against President Maduro over an alleged corruption scheme that analysts emphasize lacks clear evidence or support.
The announcement has shocked international solidarity organizations and activists who campaigned extensively for the “FreeAlexSaab” movement. Those efforts originally led to Saab’s December 2023 release from a US prison in a high-profile prisoner swap after more than three years of controversial detention.
Alex Saab is a Barranquilla, Colombia-born businessman of Palestinian descent who became close first to the government of President Hugo Chávez, and later to President Nicolás Maduro. He played a key role in the Venezuelan resistance against illegal US sanctions in the food sector, managing crucial agreements with East Asian suppliers to bypass US sanctions aimed at suffocating the Venezuelan people through starvation and economic constraints.
Since the presidency of Hugo Chávez, Saab has been the target of a smear campaign that triggered lawsuits against him in Colombia, the US, and Italy. His case was closed in Colombia in 2024 and in Italy in 2025. Some legal experts question how a pardoned individual could be prosecuted again on the same charges. Analysts, however, point out that it is “publicly known, notorious, and widely documented” that the US judiciary functions as an extension of Washington’s imperial machinery, maintaining no respect for the rule of law despite its propaganda narrative.
Background on Saab’s detention
The deportation follows reports from early February detailing Saab’s arrest in Caracas by agents of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN), which reportedly took place on February 4, allegedly with assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). His arrest came just weeks after he was removed from his ministerial post on January 16.
Until now, no official information had been released, exposing a tight-lipped communication strategy by the Venezuelan government as it navigates a complex dilemma following the January 3 US military invasion of Venezuela, during which President Nicolás Maduro was kidnapped and more than 100 people were killed.
Saab was presumably held at the El Helicoide SEBIN facility in Caracas prior to his deportation. While local media reports indicate that his arrest may have been related to a domestic case involving the leak of classified state information, US media networks have consistently pushed narratives centered on money laundering, and corruption.
Strikingly, the official Venezuelan statement justified the measure by noting that it was adopted “taking into consideration that the aforementioned Colombian citizen is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States of America, as is public, notorious, and widely reported.”
Official statement translation
The full unofficial translation of the statement follows:
“The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reports the deportation of Colombian citizen Alex Naim Saab Morán, carried out on May 16, 2026, in compliance with the regulatory provisions of Venezuelan immigration law.
Venezuelan Diplomat Alex Saab Acquitted of All Charges in Colombia
The deportation measure was adopted taking into consideration that the aforementioned Colombian citizen is involved in the commission of various crimes in the United States of America, as is public, notorious, and widely reported.
Caracas, May 16, 2026″
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SH
