On Friday, Judge Robert Scola signed the final dismissal of all charges against Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, who had been imprisoned in the United States until 2023.
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Previously, the U.S. federal government formally asked the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida to drop the charges against Saab.
The request mentioned that the lifting of charges proceeds by virtue of a Grant of Executive Clemency, signed by the U.S. President Joe Biden on Dec. 15, 2023.
"This request from the Prosecutor's Office regarding the case against Alex Saab, like the decision to 'dismiss without prejudice', deepens the truth about the persecution of the U.S. system against Venezuelan senior officials," commented Venezuela News.
The text reads, "The U.S. persecution against citizen Alex Saab has been demonstrated. After almost 4 years of hostilities against Alex Saab and his family, the U.S. government presented a motion to dismiss all the charges it brought against him. This is how a Delinquent State acts!"
"With a Prosecutor's Office that did not offer evidence to prove the charges against Saab, the defense of the Venezuelan diplomat presented solid arguments. These discredited the false accusations against him," it added.
Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab spent 1,280 days in a U.S. prison after being deported from Cape Verde. In June 2020, he landed in this African country with a stopover on a flight to Iran. Cape Verde authorities detained him following an arrest warrant issued by the United States, which accused him of crimes such as money laundering and frontmanship.
On Dec. 20, 2023, however, Washington released Saab in exchange for ten U.S. citizens and a defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard" who had been imprisoned in Venezuela, as recalled by the New York Times.