Former Chavista minister Rafael Ramirez assures Nicolas Maduro is intimidated by Alex Saab’s announcement in the US

Rafal Ramirez, former petroleum minister and former president of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Assured that Nicolas Maduro is “terrified” after him Extradition of Alex Saab to the United Stateshandjob The Colombian businessman accused him of being the dictator’s front man, and explained that it is for this reason that the regime maintains such a closed defense to try to release him.

“It is clear that Nicolas Maduro is horrified by the way this case unfolds and what the businessman announces in court. The entire government and Madurismo have automatically and unconditionally started defending themselves as a political group.Ramirez said in a column published on his website.

former strong PDVSA Assured that Caracas has the resources of this company finances the high cost of his defense, which was assumed by the office of former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón in 2020. “The same happened on the occasion of the defense of Flores’s nephews in New York, where legal representation was paid by another oil tycoon in exchange for a major contract with PDVSA. This is the action of Delcy Rodriguez from the company’s board of directors. ”, condemned Ramirez.

“Why does the government break spears, tear its clothes and use the country’s scarce resources to protect a private operator, businessman or whatever you want to call it, who has found himself doing business and prospering in the shadow of the state? Dedicated to?“, he asked himself.

In response, the former minister described Saab as a “henchman” of Maduro, so he would go into detail about all kinds of alleged illegal attempts. “It has been its economic driver since the time of the Chancellor; And then, already in the presidency, he has been one of the people who concentrated the largest amount of business with the state, contracts and acquisitions. He has served as the manager of Madurismo.”, he reviewed.

Saab is accused of running a network in the United States that exploits food aid destined for Venezuela and extorts $350 million from the country to deposit it into controlled accounts in the United States and other states. The businessman, who also holds Venezuelan nationality and a passport, was charged with money laundering in July 2019 and was arrested in June 2020 when the plane he was traveling on stopped in Cape Verde.

When he was taken into custody, he multiplied his efforts to protect himself from the Miraflores Palace. This is how Ramírez recalled: “The government, in its dismay, has done literally everything: it gave him Venezuelan nationality, a diplomatic position—diplomatic express—, appointed him as a representative before an African body. ; and, later, he attempted to include it in the “dialogue table” in Mexico.”

In the end, Ramirez recognized that Regime “looks weak, too weak, lost in political position”, and highlighted the contradiction of the fact that a government has been coercively accused of human rights violations, which now condemns the alleged lack of guarantees in this case.

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