The exchange of Alex Saab, the leading frontman of the dictator Nicolás Maduro, caused a lot of controversy at the national level, especially among Republican politicians who, despite the return home of several compatriots, highlighted the position of weakness in which the Biden administration finds itself against the Chavista regime.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, dominated by Republicans, rightly condemned the exchange, recalling that Saab is a key asset of the Maduro regime and that his return represents a symptom of Washington’s surrender to Caracas.
“We welcome reports that Americans are returning home after years of imprisonment under the Maduro regime. However, we remain deeply troubled by the weakness of the Biden administration—which continues to be extorted by foreign adversaries using Americans as pawns,” wrote Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), president of the House Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), ranking member of Senate Foreign Relations.
“Alex Saab ran Maduro’s global money laundering empire and his relationships with Hezbollah and drug cartels. He is now free to do so again. Today’s swap strengthens Maduro and makes Americans less safe around the world,” the lawmakers said.
#READ the full statement from CHM @RepMcCaul and @SenateForeign RM @SenatorRisch on the Biden administration’s prisoner swap with the criminal Maduro regime in #Venezuela here ⬇️ https://t.co/4u2zuNIueg pic.twitter.com/s4g5HQZrX1
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) December 20, 2023
Although there are still no exact figures on how many political prisoners will leave the jails of the Maduro regime, unofficial sources indicated that the exchange for Saab will include a total of 12 Americans and about 24 more imprisoned.
Other senators, such as Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bob Menéndez, also strongly condemned the Saab exchange. Last October, Rubio had warned that the Biden administration was very likely going to proceed with the exchange of Saab, despite the fact that the Democratic Government, for a long time, denied that the exchange of Maduro’s frontman was on the negotiating table.
“We’ve seen the release of Maduro’s convict nephews and the lifting of targeted sanctions to now granting petroleum, gas, and gold licenses. No one should be surprised when this administration ends up releasing Maduro’s financier and money launderer, Alex Saab, either,” Rubio noted a couple of months ago when the Biden administration had decided to partially lift sanctions on the Chavista regime.
