Venezuelans linked to Alex Saab’s corruption network receive amnesty in the US

A Venezuelan businessman who helped hide nearly $17 million in bribe payments by an ally of President Nicolas Maduro was sentenced Friday to six months in prison by a federal judge who expressed frustration that his cooperation with authorities has backfired. A major US criminal target following a recent pardon by President Joe Biden.

Orlando Contreras had been working with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency since 2019 to investigate corruption in the South American nation.

As part of that assistance, prosecutors said, he made several dangerous trips to Venezuela to gather evidence against businessman Alex Saab and former governor Jose Vielma.

Saab and Vielma were the targets of a secret espionage program uncovered by the Associated Press in which the DEA was sent to Venezuela to secretly investigate and file criminal charges against Maduro’s inner circle.

Both men were later charged in separate corruption cases. But while Vielma remains a fugitive, the United States released Saab in December as part of a swap for 10 Americans and a Pentagon defense contractor imprisoned in Venezuela.

The US District Court Judge Rodolfo Ruiz said he agreed to give Contreras more leniency than the government recommended because of the risks he took in going after Saab, who was once a top criminal defendant but now a man who has settled in Venezuela. . Never again face justice in the United States.

“They all left town,” Ruiz said, “and he’s the only one who decided to stay and face justice.”

Saab, 52, was hailed as a hero by Maduro in December and immediately launched a tirade against the United States, claiming he was tortured in an attempt to pressure Maduro while awaiting extradition from Cape Verde.

His release was seen as a major relief for Maduro as the Biden administration seeks to improve relations with the OPEC nation and pave the way for free elections. Achieving that goal seems more difficult than ever, with Maduro refusing to lift a ban on his main rival, Maria Corina Machado, from running for public office and recently arresting opponents.

Contreras, in a guilty plea last year, admitted to receiving nearly $17 million between 2016 and 2019 to facilitate bribes in exchange for $1.6 billion in government contracts awarded to Saab and an associate to import medicine and food boxes. As part of the country’s alleged scheme, the co-conspirators inflated the prices of goods charged to the Venezuelan government, using the extra money to bribe officials.

Contreras said he served as an intermediary for Vielma and transferred about $11 million to offshore accounts at the behest of the then-governor. She kept the rest, but is now giving it to the US government. To date, he has handed over $650,000, two luxury watches and is settling another $100,000, his lawyers said in court Friday.

“The government wants to punish one of the few people who actually cooperated, while the target faces no punishment and gets praise in Venezuela,” said one of Contreras’ lawyers, Martin Steinberg, arguing for a lighter arrest sentence.

Contreras broke down in tears recounting two horrific kidnapping episodes in Venezuela in which he said he was beaten and sexually assaulted, saying he would reopen if they were closed.

“I live every day in fear that it could happen to me again,” he told the judge.

However, Ruiz said the minimum jail time was given to deter others from participating in such sophisticated foreign corruption schemes.

Contreras’ lawyers described his cooperation as “extraordinary,” spanning more than four years and including DEA-directed phone calls to targets and at least two risky trips to Venezuela to further the U.S. criminal investigation.

However, the full extent of their cooperation is unknown, as both prosecutors’ accounts and a 76-page sentencing memorandum filed by Contreras’ attorney remain under seal.

“It’s fair to say that the corroborating information he provided was very helpful,” US Attorney Alexander Kramer said in court Friday. “He traveled to Venezuela to try to cooperate of his own free will. “He was not requested by the government.”