The man once indispensable is now expendable
En las sombras del poder venezolano, una figura que durante más de una década operó como engranaje financiero del régimen de Nicolás Maduro ha sido entregada a las autoridades estadounidenses por la propia vicepresidenta Delcy Rodríguez. Alex Saab, empresario colombo-libanés y arquitecto de los flujos económicos que sostuvieron al gobierno bolivariano, regresa así a la custodia de quienes lo acusan de lavar cientos de millones de dólares del erario venezolano. Este gesto, cargado de implicaciones, sugiere que las lealtades dentro del círculo íntimo de Maduro no son tan inamovibles como parecían, y que la presión internacional puede estar reconfigurando silenciosamente el mapa del poder en Caracas.
- Delcy Rodríguez entregó a Alex Saab a Estados Unidos en un movimiento que nadie dentro del chavismo habría anticipado hace apenas meses.
- La entrega quiebra la narrativa oficial del régimen, que en su momento celebró el regreso de Saab como un triunfo diplomático bolivariano.
- Saab, quien coordinó importaciones masivas y administró el corrupto programa CLAP durante más de una década, pasó de ser ministro a ser prescindible en cuestión de meses.
- Las acusaciones que enfrenta —conspiración para lavar dinero y liderar una red que desvió cientos de millones del Estado venezolano— vuelven a activarse con toda su fuerza legal.
- La fractura que revela esta decisión dentro del círculo de Maduro abre interrogantes sobre quién controla realmente los hilos del poder en Venezuela y hasta dónde llega la presión de Washington.
Un sábado de mayo, la vicepresidenta venezolana Delcy Rodríguez tomó una decisión que sacudió a Caracas: entregó a Alex Saab a las autoridades de Estados Unidos. El gesto representó un giro dramático para uno de los operadores más confiables de Nicolás Maduro, un empresario colombo-libanés que durante más de una década fue el motor financiero del régimen bolivariano.
Saab orquestó importaciones de alimentos, combustible y medicinas, y gestionó el programa CLAP, una iniciativa estatal de distribución de alimentos que se convirtió en símbolo de corrupción y precios inflados. En 2024, Maduro lo elevó al cargo de ministro de industrias y producción nacional, consolidando su papel central en el aparato económico del gobierno.
Su prominencia, sin embargo, también lo convirtió en objetivo. Fue arrestado en Cabo Verde en 2020 y extraditado a Estados Unidos en 2021, acusado de liderar una red que habría desviado cientos de millones de dólares del erario venezolano. Años después, fue liberado en un intercambio de prisioneros que el régimen celebró como victoria diplomática. Esa narrativa acaba de derrumbarse.
Que Rodríguez haya sido quien lo entregó sugiere una fractura profunda en el círculo íntimo de Maduro. Si fue producto de presión estadounidense, de luchas internas de poder, o de ambas cosas, aún no está claro. Lo que sí es evidente es que Saab, antes indispensable, se ha vuelto prescindible —y que el suelo bajo el gobierno venezolano puede estar moviéndose de maneras que hasta ahora permanecían ocultas.
On a Saturday morning in May, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodríguez made a move that sent shockwaves through Caracas: she handed Alex Saab over to the United States. The surrender of Saab—a Colombian businessman of Lebanese descent who held dual Colombian-Venezuelan citizenship—marked a stunning reversal in the political fortunes of one of Nicolás Maduro's most trusted operatives.
For more than a decade, Saab had been the financial machinery behind the Maduro government. He entered the orbit of Hugo Chávez's administration in its final years and cemented his position under Maduro, orchestrating massive imports of food, fuel, and medicine. Much of this activity flowed through the CLAP program, a state food distribution initiative that became synonymous with corruption and inflated prices. By 2024, Maduro elevated Saab further, naming him minister of industries and national production—a position that made him a central figure in the government's economic apparatus.
But Saab's prominence also made him a target. In 2020, he was arrested in Cabo Verde at the request of American authorities. The following year, he was extradited to the United States to face charges of conspiracy to launder money and leading a corruption network that allegedly siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from Venezuela's state coffers. For nearly two years, he remained imprisoned in the American system.
Then, in a development that Maduro's government framed as a diplomatic victory, Saab was released as part of a prisoner exchange between Washington and Caracas. The regime celebrated it as a "Bolivarian triumph." But that narrative has now collapsed. Rodríguez's decision to deliver him back to American custody suggests something deeper has shifted within Maduro's inner circle—a fracture in the alliance that once seemed unshakeable.
The timing and nature of the handover raise questions about what prompted the move. Whether it reflects genuine pressure from the United States, internal power struggles within the Venezuelan government, or some combination of both remains unclear. What is certain is that Saab, once positioned as indispensable to Maduro's economic operations, has become expendable. The man who coordinated the flow of resources that kept the regime functioning is now in American hands, facing the same charges that sent him to prison before. For observers watching Venezuela's political landscape, the surrender signals that the ground beneath Maduro's government may be shifting in ways that were not visible from the outside.
Citas Notables
The Maduro government celebrated Saab's 2021 release from US custody as a 'Bolivarian triumph,' only to reverse course and deliver him back to American authorities months later.— reporting on regime statements
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Rodríguez turn on someone so central to Maduro's operations? That seems like cutting off your own hand.
It does, unless the hand was already infected. Saab had become a liability—visible, indicted, a symbol of the corruption that's strangling the economy. Keeping him might have cost more than letting him go.
But didn't they already get him back once? In that prisoner exchange?
Yes, and that's the strange part. They celebrated it as a win, brought him home, made him a minister. Then they gave him back. That suggests either the Americans applied pressure Caracas couldn't resist, or someone inside the government decided Saab was more useful gone than present.
Could this be about Rodríguez herself? Is she positioning for something?
That's the question no one can answer yet. She's the one who made the move, which means she either had Maduro's blessing or she's making a play of her own. Either way, it's a signal that the loyalty networks holding the regime together aren't as solid as they look.
What happens to Saab now?
He faces the same charges as before—money laundering, leading a corruption network. But this time, there's no prisoner exchange waiting to bring him home. He's back in the American system, and the regime has publicly abandoned him.