Fugitive businessman taken into US custody in Venezuela bribery case

Alvaro Pulido, a 62‑year‑old Colombian‑born businessman, was taken into U.S. custody on Sunday after a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. Pulido has been wanted since his 2019 indictment in Miami federal court, with a renewed charge in 2021, for allegedly paying bribes to senior Venezuelan officials to secure more than $2 billion in state contracts for food, medicine and low‑cost housing. The U.S. Department of Justice highlighted his alleged scheme as a “blatant disregard to the Venezuelan people,” noting that the bribery exploited American financial channels. He is scheduled to appear before a Miami judge on Tuesday, and the U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche reiterated the Justice Department’s commitment to prosecute those involved, regardless of distance or time.

The case is tied to a broader corruption probe that also implicates Alex Saab, Pulido’s longtime business partner and former ally of ousted President Nicolás Maduro. Saab, who was deported to the United States by Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez in May, pleaded guilty in September to a related bribery charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, forfeiting $195 million in illicit proceeds. Prosecutors allege that Pulido and Saab used a network of offshore shell companies to funnel bribes to Maduro’s inner circle, securing contracts that were meant to alleviate Venezuela’s severe shortages of essential goods. Pulido’s arrest follows his 2023 detention in Venezuela during a crackdown on corruption at the state oil firm PDVSA, a campaign led by Rodríguez while she served as vice‑president under Maduro.

Venezuelan authorities have not commented on Pulido’s transfer to U.S. custody, underscoring the political tightrope faced by Rodríguez, who must balance pressure from the Trump administration to hand over Venezuelan officials wanted for corruption and drug trafficking with internal coalition demands to resist such extraditions. Pulido’s criminal history includes a 1997 drug‑trafficking conviction in Italy under the alias “German Enrique Rubio,” adding a further layer of complexity to the case. The developments highlight the United States’ intensified effort to pursue high‑level corruption linked to the Maduro regime, while also exposing the challenges Venezuela faces in navigating international legal pressures amid its ongoing economic crisis.

⚡ Effects Interpreter