Alex Saab, the scandal-plagued billionaire and former industry minister, was extradited to the United States on Saturday, May 16, 2026, by Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez. Saab faces allegations of enriching himself through shell companies and no-bid government contracts that siphoned money meant to address a starvation crisis during Nicolás Maduro's rule.

Rodríguez detained Saab in early February at the Trump administration's request, firing him shortly after U.S. forces captured Maduro in January. The move signals Washington's growing leverage over Caracas. Maduro is currently held in New York on narco-terrorism and cocaine-import charges.

Saab, 54, has been in and out of U.S. custody before—extradited from Cape Verde in 2021, pardoned by Biden in 2023, then returned to Venezuela in a prisoner swap. Venezuelan authorities hinted he may have been stripped of citizenship to bypass the constitution's ban on extraditing nationals. Delcy Rodríguez is systematically dismantling Maduro's inner circle.