The authorities of the United States have reported the arrest of Colombian citizen Álvaro Pulido Vargas, who is facing accusations in the North American country linked to bribery and money laundering schemes "worth billions of dollars" related to the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
"Agents of the National Security Task Force (made up of different U.S. security agencies and aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations) have arrested Álvaro Pulido Vargas," announced the Attorney General, Todd Blanche, on social media.
In that same message, the head of the Department of Justice emphasized that Pulido Vargas "currently faces two distinct federal charges in the United States from 2019 and 2021 related to alleged bribery and money laundering schemes involving Venezuelan money worth billions of dollars linked to Maduro's regime."
"His alleged actions demonstrate an absolute contempt for the Venezuelan people by corrupting government programs intended to provide food, medicine, and essential housing for personal benefit, taking advantage of the U.S. financial system," he denounced.
The suspect, 62 years old, of Colombian nationality and also identified as Germán Enrique Rubio Salas, the name under which he was convicted in 1997 in Italy, is scheduled to appear this Tuesday before a U.S. federal court in the Southern District of Florida, according to the Department of Justice in an official statement.
The indictment presented in 2021 places him, along with four other co-defendants, as responsible for "money laundering from an alleged bribery scheme related to approximately $1.6 billion (€1.427 billion) in contracts from the Venezuelan government for the supply of food and medicine."
"Pulido Vargas is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering; each of these offenses carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison," pointed out the U.S. Department of Justice.
For its part, the charges from 2019, pursued by the department now headed by Todd Blanche, link him to former Venezuelan Minister of Industries and National Production Alex Saab, considered Maduro's frontman.
According to the accusation, "from approximately November 2011 and until at least September 2015," Pulido Vargas and Saab "conspired with other people" to launder about 350 million dollars (312 million euros) "in connection with a bribery scheme linked to the foreign exchange system controlled by the government of Venezuela," states the statement, which maintains that the operation was carried out "through bank accounts in the United States."
Less than a month ago, the former minister pleaded guilty to money laundering, among other crimes, after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Prosecutor's Office during a hearing held this Tuesday before a federal court in Miami.
Saab, 54 years old, had already spent more than three years in prison in U.S. territory for alleged money laundering. He was arrested in Cape Verde in June 2020 at the request of the United States and extradited in October 2021. He was later released under an agreement between Washington and Caracas that also included the release of ten American citizens held in Venezuela.