MIAMI.– Alvaro Pulido Vargasformer partner of the Colombian businessman Alex Saab processed in USA, would be at the mercy of the American justice system that requested his extradition on charges of money launderingand was agreed upon Venezuelareported a digital media specialized in organized crime.
Pulido Vargas was wanted by the US government since 2021, which offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars, but in April 2023 he was arrested in an alleged anti-corruption operation in Caracas as a member of the network linked to the PDVSA embezzlement case.
In this case, known as PDVSA-Cripto, Maduro’s former Oil Minister, Tareck El Aissami, among other former officials and financial operators, was also arrested.
Saab, imprisoned in a Miami jail, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to launder money on September 15 in federal court in that Florida city.
Who is Álex Saab’s former partner
Pulido Vargas, a Colombian businessman and financial operator of the regime of the deposed Nicolás Maduro along with Saab, has been linked to corruption cases for more than a decade, but his judicial file and whereabouts have been hidden from public access since he was arrested three years ago.
One of the cases refers to the irregular marketing of Venezuelan oil in which he participated with Saab, under the management of El Aissami, who was a rival of Delcy Rodríguez. This condition would have to do with his release from prison, according to former prosecutor Zair Mundaray.
In his X account, the former judicial official also stated that “Álvaro Pulido would have already left the country via Guantánamo to join his partner Alex Saab,” according to sources revealed to him.
“Others (say) that he is still in Venezuela waiting for a decision regarding his situation. Little by little the mafia structure is being dismantled, the information that this character handles is very important after his foray into the oil sector,” Mundaray assured.
So far, there is no official information on the whereabouts of Pulido Vargas, but it is speculated that he could have the same fate as Saab, who was handed over, under the guise of deportation, on May 16 to the US authorities after the capture of Nicolás Maduro during a military operation on January 3.
