Venezuela’s acting president sacks Maduro’s most prominent loyalists Industry Minister Alex Saab
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, on Friday announced the dismissal of businessman and Industry Minister Alex Saab, a close associate of ousted President Nicolas Maduro.
Alex Saab, (54), was arrested and detained in the United States in 2021 on charges of setting up a system to divert food aid for Maduro and his government.
He was exchanged in December 2023 for 10 Americans who were imprisoned in Venezuela, in a process that Maduro described as a victory.
The Colombian-born businessman has significantly strengthened oil ties between Venezuela and Iran in the face of US sanctions, and Maduro appointed him industry minister in December 2024.
Saab leaves the government less than two weeks after US special forces arrested Maduro in Caracas on January 3rd and transferred him to the United States.
“I thank my colleague Alex Saab for his work in the service of the country, and he will now take on new responsibilities,” Rodriguez said on Telegram, explaining that his ministerial portfolio, which will be merged with the Ministry of Commerce, will be abolished.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez on Thursday in Caracas, a US administration official said on Friday, adding that he had conveyed a message that the United States is looking forward to improving the working relationship between the two countries.
The visit came the day after Trump and Rodriguez’s first contact, and on the same day that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado handed Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won at the White House.
