The Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab had a new hearing on Tuesday before Miami federal judge Robert N. Scola, who must determine whether or not the official has diplomatic immunity, a decision on which the judicial process depends.
However, the accusation against Saab could not take place in the event that Judge Scola acknowledges that Saab was on a trip as a special envoy of the Government of Venezuela to Iran, with the rank of diplomat, when in 2020 he was arrested in Cape Verde, to request of the United States, as claimed by Saab’s defense.
To prove this claim, Saab’s lawyers presented before the judge letters from the governments of Venezuela and Iran in which Saab’s mission to obtain oil agreements with Tehran was mentioned.
The Venezuelan government has reiterated that with the arrest of Saab all regulations and procedures were violated, since at the time of the arrest by Interpol authorities in Cape Verde there was no red code in force in that entity’s system.
For his part, Judge Scola announced that he will issue his verdict before the end of next week.
As it will be remembered, Saab was extradited on October 16, 2021 to Miami from Cape Verde to the US in violation of the diplomatic status that protected him, a situation that the judicial authorities of the African country ignored.
For the Government of Venezuela, this fact “is a violation of international law and standards, it clearly corresponds to the actions of aggression and siege against the Venezuelan people, undertaken by the Government of the United States of America in order to affect and abruptly interrupt efforts on behalf of the Bolivarian Government, aimed at guaranteeing the right to food, health and other fundamental basic rights of the people of Venezuela”.
Last May, a US appeals court rejected an appeal on the grounds of diplomatic immunity filed by Saab and remanded the case to the Scola court.
The last two hearings, held recently, were dedicated to the defense and the Prosecutor’s Office presenting evidence and witnesses to support their respective theses.
