Venezuela says it deported close ally of Maduro to face judicial proceedings in US

Miami, May 17 (AP) Venezuela's government said it had deported a close ally of Nicolas Maduro to face judicial proceedings in the US less than three years after the businessman was pardoned by President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap.
    The Venezuelan government in a statement did not explicitly say where it had deported Alex Saab but said its decision was based on several ongoing criminal investigations in the US.
    The Associated Press reported in February that federal prosecutors have been digging for month into Saab's role in an alleged bribery conspiracy involving Venezuelan government contracts to import food.
    Saab, 54, amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts. But the Colombian-born businessman, long described by US officials as Maduro's “bag man,” fell out of favour with the country's new leadership that took power following the US ouster of the Venezuelan president and could be asked to testify against his former protector. (AP) MPL
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)