Maduro ally Alex Saab expected to plead guilty in federal money laundering case

MIAMI (AP) — A close ally of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a federal case that accused him of bribing officials to win lucrative contracts to import food at a time of widespread hardship in the South American country.

Alex Saab is scheduled to appear before Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on Tuesday for a change of plea hearing, according to court records. The details of the plea were not immediately made public and Saab’s attorney, Neil Schuster, declined to comment.

Saab was deported in May by Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez in response to pressure from the United States, which has been targeting the Colombian-born businessman for more than a decade. He was charged with a single count of money laundering tied to an alleged conspiracy to create fake companies, falsify shipping records and skim from government contracts to import food from Colombia and Mexico.

Saab, 54, was previously charged during the first Trump administration in 2019 and then arrested during a refueling stop in Cape Verde on what the Venezuelan government described as a high-level humanitarian mission to Iran.

But President Joe Biden pardoned him in 2023 in exchange for the release of several imprisoned Americans in Venezuela. The deal, part of a failed effort by the Biden White House to lure Maduro into holding a free presidential election, was harshly criticized by Republicans and federal law enforcement officials, who immediately began investigating Saab for other alleged crimes not covered by the narrowly tailored pardon.

U.S. officials have long described Saab as Maduro’s “bag man” and could ask him to serve as a character witness against the former president, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a raid by the U.S. military in January.

The new U.S. prosecution of Saab and Maduro is taking place as the Trump administration overhauls relations with Venezuela, focusing its attention on tapping into Venezuela's vast oil reserves. This month, Trump announced what he called the “BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY” in Venezuela, a partnership with Venezuelan oil entrepreneur Alejandro Betancourt in which the U.S. government will gain a stake and access to at-cost crude shipments from oil fields with a potential to produce 65 billion barrels.

Saab was little known even in Venezuela until after his first arrest, in 2020, when Maduro's government invested huge resources rallying public support for his release.

Rodríguez, then serving as Maduro's vice president, helped mount an international campaign in which she referred to Saab as an “innocent Venezuelan diplomat” who had been illegally “kidnapped” by the U.S.

But following Maduro's capture, Rodríguez distanced herself from Saab, firing him from her Cabinet and stripping him of his role as the main conduit for foreign companies looking to invest in Venezuela.

Saab amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts but became even more valuable to Maduro as U.S. sanctions forced Venezuela to conduct much of its oil sales and foreign trade outside of Western financial institutions.

The new indictment accuses Saab and others of setting up a web of companies to bribe top Venezuelan officials controlling contracts for the so-called CLAP program set up by Maduro to provide staples — rice, corn flour, cooking oil — to poor Venezuelans at a time of rampant hyperinflation and a crumbling currency.

As part of the alleged conspiracy, Saab and others allegedly expanded their corrupt influence deep inside the Maduro government, accessing billions of dollars in oil sales from state-run oil company PDVSA, prosecutors allege.

Durkin Richer reported from Washington.

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Alex Saab stand together during an event marking the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia teams must be allowed to play International Ice Hockey Federation events such as the world championships, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday.

CAS overturned IIHF decisions which excluded Russia from events in the 2026-27 season including the men’s and women’s world championships.

The ruling is a notable win for Russia against efforts to bar it from international sports due to the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a noted hockey fan who has previously played exhibition games with former stars.

Russia's return throws into uncertainty how the men's world championship will work next year in Germany, given that Ukraine has also qualified.

In a brief statement, CAS cited a lack of sufficient evidence to support the IIHF’s security concerns.

CAS said its ruling did not address issues such as whether Russia should be required to play without national symbols as a team of neutral athletes, as in some other Olympic sports, or other “organizational consequences.”

The IIHF expressed disappointment with the ruling and said it “maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions."

“While the IIHF respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its ruling, the outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments.”

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov wrote on the Telegram social media app that CAS “recognized the demands of the Russian Hockey Federation on key points as justified.”

The IIHF has barred Russian teams from its world championships since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia also missed the Olympic hockey tournaments this year.

The ruling is an immediate challenge for new IIHF President Franz Reindl, whose home country of Germany hosts the men's world championship next year.

The first tournament where Russia could return is the men's world junior championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada, starting on Dec. 26.

Other events covered by the ruling are the women's world championship in Canada next year and under-18 world championships in 2027 in Minnesota and the Czech Republic.

In the history of the men’s worlds, Russia’s or the Soviet Union’s 27 titles are second only to Canada’s 28. Russia last won the gold medal in 2014.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

FILE - Russia players celebrate during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Russia and Sweden in Riga, Latvia, May 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Roman Koksarov, File)