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<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header
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href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/06/forbes-reveals-why-the-us-government-is-trying-to-extradite-venezuelan-diplomat-alex-saab/"
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Forbes Reveals Why the US
Government Is Trying to Extradite Venezuelan Diplomat Alex
Saab</h1>
<span class="gmail-post_author_intro">by</span> <span
class="gmail-post_author"><a
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/roger-harris-2/"
rel="nofollow" moz-do-not-send="true">Roger Harris</a></span>-
October 6, 2021<br>
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<p><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-215974"
src="https://2vynjo3oi9ijs29xb3fmjtn1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-05-at-8.34.20-PM-680x373.png"
alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="426" height="234"></p>
<p id="gmail-caption-attachment-215974"
class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Photograph Source:
United States Department of the Treasury – Public
Domain</p>
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<p>Alex Saab is “the key that unlocks the Venezuelan
monetary mystery—that is, how a country facing
sanctions from the US, the UK and the European
Union—is still able to export things like gold and
oil…and really the only man who can actually explain
how the country [Venezuela] survives today,” according
to <a
href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2021/10/01/money-man-for-venezuelaaccused-of-looting-billionsnears-extradition-to-the-us/?sh=63689e536a5f"
moz-do-not-send="true"><em>Forbes</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p>The US would far prefer to just quietly extradite
Saab to Miami, use whatever means necessary to extract
sensitive information from him, and then warehouse him
in the world’s <a
href="https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/07/31/the-unitd-states-is-the-largest-prison-camp-in-the-world/"
moz-do-not-send="true">largest prison system</a>. <em>Forbes
</em>uses the euphemism “under pressure” by US prison
authorities as the means to force Saab to “shed light
on Venezuela’s post-sanction economic network.” Saab
already reports that his surrogate captors in Cabo
Verde, described below, have unsuccessfully employed
torture to try to break his will and induce him to
betray Venezuela.</p>
<p>That an elite business magazine such as <em>Forbes </em>is
featuring a diplomat from a country aspiring to become
socialist is a testament to the growing international
movement to free the imprisoned Alex Saab and an
indication of the weakness of the US case against him.</p>
<p><strong>The arrest of a diplomat</strong></p>
<p>Saab is fighting what Canadian lawyer John Philpot,
an expert on international law, calls “a flagrant
attempt of extra-territorial judicial overreach by the
US.”</p>
<p>On June 12, 2020, Saab was on a mission as a special
envoy of the Venezuelan government to procure food,
fuel, and medicines from Iran, when his plane from
Caracas to Tehran was diverted to Cabo Verde for a
fueling stop. Saab’s <a
href="https://popularresistance.org/us-compels-small-african-country-to-imprison-venezuelan-diplomat/"
moz-do-not-send="true">arrest and subsequent
detention</a> at the bidding of the US is arbitrary,
illegal, and irregular. Further, Saab has been <a
href="https://en.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/news/politics/cabo-verde-impide-atencion-medica-a-alex-saab/"
moz-do-not-send="true">denied treatment</a> for his
cancer condition.</p>
<p>Saab, the deputy Venezuelan ambassador to the African
Union, is fighting extradition to the US for the
“crime” of trying to procure humanitarian supplies in
violation of <a
href="https://truthout.org/articles/us-sanctions-are-deadly-illegal-and-ineffective/"
moz-do-not-send="true">illegal US sanctions</a>. To
date, Saab’s <a
href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/yd9txlpot2vbd8m/Philpot%20Saab%20Good%20Governance%20Paper.pdf?dl=0"
moz-do-not-send="true">legal appeals</a> to Cabo
Verdean authorities for freedom have been either
denied, rejected, or ignored.</p>
<p>Under the Vienna Convention, a credentialed diplomat
such as Saab has absolute <a
href="https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">immunity</a> from arrest,
even in the time of war. Saab appealed to the US 11<sup>th</sup>
Circuit Court on the basis of his diplomatic status.
In response, Washington filed an application for an
extension to reply in a legal delaying tactic to allow
Saab’s pending extradition without recognizing his
diplomatic immunity. It is as if the US empire is
claiming the authority to qualify who other countries
may choose and receive as their ambassadors.</p>
<p>Consider, however, that the US government still does
not recognize the democratically elected Nicolás
Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. In
contradiction of the United Nations and <a
href="http://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/07/european-union-will-no-longer-recognize-juan-guaido-as-president-of-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">almost every other country</a>
in the world, <a
href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/pure-sadism-biden-blasted-continuing-trumps-recognition-guaido-coup-regime-and"
moz-do-not-send="true">Joe Biden</a> continues to
claim that the Trump-anointed, <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/"
moz-do-not-send="true">US security asset</a> Juan
Guaidó is Venezuela’s “interim” head of state.</p>
<p><strong>The US case against Alex Saab</strong></p>
<p>The US alleges Saab culpable of fraud and money
laundering to bilk the Venezuelan people who are, in
fact, under siege by the US. Specifically, the US
Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control <a
href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm741"
moz-do-not-send="true">accuses</a> Saab of
“loot[ing] hundreds of millions of dollars from
starving Venezuelans.” One would think that Saab would
be given a <a
href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom"
moz-do-not-send="true">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>
for his efforts, given that the US policy of promoting
regime change in Venezuela is <a
href="https://2017-2021.state.gov/venezuela-related-sanctions/index.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">doing precisely the same
thing</a> as Saab is being accused.</p>
<p>The US and its sycophantic allies have imposed <a
href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/AdvisoryCommittee/Pages/UnilateralCoerciveMeasures.aspx"
moz-do-not-send="true">unilateral coercive measures</a>
on Venezuela that amount to a <a
href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/05/09/what-you-should-know-about-the-us-blockade-of-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">blockade</a>through the use
of <a
href="https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/sanctions-by-the-numbers-u-s-secondary-sanctions"
moz-do-not-send="true">secondary sanctions</a>. The
UN has repeatedly called such <a
href="https://nacla.org/news/2019/08/15/washington-intensifies-its-collective-punishment-venezuelans"
moz-do-not-send="true">collective punishment</a>
illegal and has demanded their <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15157"
moz-do-not-send="true">repeal</a>. Some three dozen
countries and one third of humanity are suffering
under <a
href="https://sanctionskill.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SanctionsReport_v1-compressed.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">US sanctions</a>.</p>
<p>Largely due to the sanctions, the Venezuelan economy
has <a
href="https://www.perild.com/2021/09/15/un-rapporteur-advocates-immediate-suspension-of-economic-sanctions-against-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">drastically contracted</a>,
especially after the <a
href="https://torinocap.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Sanctions-and-Vzlan-Economy-June-2019.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">targeting of its oil sector</a>,
which is its major source of foreign earnings.
Attempts by the Venezuelan government to access its
own <a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/venezuelan-gold-seized-by-the-bank-of-england-british-court-accepts-guaidos-appeal/"
moz-do-not-send="true">gold reserves</a> held abroad
or to use its drawing rights from the <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15184"
moz-do-not-send="true">International Monetary Fund</a>
to pay for <a
href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/coronademic-venezuelas-drives-obstructed/"
moz-do-not-send="true">COVID relief</a> have been
blocked at the behest of the US government. The
Venezuelan oil company subsidiary in the US, <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14609"
moz-do-not-send="true">CITGO</a>, has been
appropriated by Washington. Venezuela’s <a
href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/venezuela-s-guaido-taps-152-million-of-frozen-funds-in-the-u-s/ar-BB1fWYfC"
moz-do-not-send="true">bank accounts</a> abroad have
been frozen and looted by the US and its allies. <a
href="https://talcualdigital.com/western-union-suspende-envio-de-remesas-a-venezuela-pese-a-tener-licencia-para-operar/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Western Union</a> has
suspended money transfers to Venezuela. And
third-country ships carrying supplies to Venezuela
have been seized by the US in blatant acts of <a
href="https://www.rt.com/news/497980-us-seize-iranian-ships-wsj/"
moz-do-not-send="true">piracy</a> on international
waters. The result has been widespread <a
href="https://therealnews.com/un-rapporteur-us-sanctions-cause-death-in-venezuela"
moz-do-not-send="true">misery and even death</a> in
Venezuela.</p>
<p><strong>The real reasons for the US extradition
effort on Alex Saab</strong></p>
<p>David Dawkins, the <em>Forbes</em> staff author of
the article on Saab, uses the <a
href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2021/10/01/money-man-for-venezuelaaccused-of-looting-billionsnears-extradition-to-the-us/?sh=63689e536a5f"
moz-do-not-send="true">byline</a> “I cover the work
and wealth of Europe’s richest.” Because <em>Forbes</em>
services the niche of corporate media that is read by
elites and those who attend them, their reports are –
as in this case – more factual than some of the more
popularly oriented <a
href="https://fair.org/home/saab-case-shows-western-medias-casual-acceptance-of-us-atrocities/"
moz-do-not-send="true">media outlets</a>.</p>
<p>For example, <em>Forbes</em> discloses that Saab is
believed to have “the means and know-how to help
discreetly keep an entire economy moving under the
eyes of a watching world.” The “world” that is
“watching” is a reference to the US surveillance
state. Because Saab has been instrumental in
circumventing the illegal US blockade of Venezuela is
exactly why the US has persecuted the diplomat and why
Washington seeks to bring him to the US.</p>
<p>Indeed, Saab is understood to be, according to <em>Forbes,
</em>“a key cog in Venezuela’s national money
machine,” who “worked as a key fixer on the country’s
housing and food programs, juggling contacts,
companies and bank accounts around the world.”</p>
<p>Giving credit where it is due, <em>Forbes</em>
notes: “Much to the annoyance of the Trump and Biden
administrations, Saab, a creative and capable
businessman, found a way to navigate Venezuelan trade
in sectors like food, oil and gold between the cracks
of US oversight.”</p>
<p>The US case against Saab is political, not legal.
Femi Falana, Saab’s lead attorney at the regional
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
court in Nigeria, maintains “the case against Alex
Saab is indeed rooted in political expediency.” The
real reason for the US extradition effort, as <em>Forbes
</em>reveals, is that Saab is a “serious information
asset for the US in understanding just how the country
[Venezuela] does business.”</p>
<p>Underlining the importance of Saab to the US, the
Navy cruiser San Jacinto was clandestinely deployed
for a period off the coast of Cabo Verde, where Saab
was imprisoned. The <em>New York Times </em>described
the dispatch of the warship as a “<a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/navy-cape-verde-venezuela.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">secret mission</a> aimed at
helping deal a major blow to President Nicolás Maduro
of Venezuela.”</p>
<p><strong>International effort to free Alex Saab</strong></p>
<p><em>Forbes</em> correctly reports: “But for many in
Venezuela, this [Saab’s activities] is not
criminal—Saab is a hero, and his efforts overseas are
the actions of a man trying to feed and house the
hungry and homeless.” The Venezuelan government
recently appointed Saab as an <a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/ambassador-alex-saab-to-join-mexico-talks-as-part-of-venezuelan-government-delegation/"
moz-do-not-send="true">official delegate</a> to the
talks in Mexico between them and the opposition United
Platform group.</p>
<p>Internationally, Cabo Verde has received diplomatic
letters protesting the Saab case from Iran, China,
Russia, the United Nations, the African Union, and
ECOWAS, based on the principles of immunity and
inviolability of consular rights. Over 15,000
internationals have signed a <a
href="https://afgj.org/free-alex-saab"
moz-do-not-send="true">petition</a> to the US and
Cape Verdean political leadership to free Alex Saab at
<a href="https://afgj.org/free-alex-saab"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://afgj.org/free-alex-saab</a>.</p>
<p><em>Forbes </em>says Saab’s extradition is imminent.
Saab’s lawyer Femi Falana <a
href="https://www.workers.org/2021/09/59033/"
moz-do-not-send="true">says</a>, “the legal process
is far from over, and His Excellency Alex Saab will
not be going to the United States any time soon.”
Regardless, Alex Saab says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“For those who dream that my speech or integrity
will change if I am extradited, let me spoil that
illusion. My integrity does not change with the
[political] climate or the type of torture.
Venezuela is sovereign.”</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p> <strong><em>Roger Harris </em></strong><em>is on the
board of the <a href="http://taskforceamericas.org/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Task Force on the Americas</a>,
a 32-year-old anti-imperialist human rights
organization.</em> </p>
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