The Government of Venezuela expressed its firm rejection of the lack of recognition of the diplomatic immunity of its special envoy Alex Saab in the framework of a trial against him in the United States, a decision that it described as “another outrage.”
On December 23, a US federal judge rejected a motion filed by Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab to dismiss charges for alleged money laundering, citing his diplomatic immunity.
Judge Robert Scola of the Southern District of Florida ruled that the special envoy status wielded by Saab is “inconsequential” under customary international law, and only reflects a designation by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Within the framework of the economic blockade and the sanctions imposed by the US and several European countries on Venezuela, the Maduro administration appointed Saab as its diplomatic representative to Russia and Iran, with the mission of managing the acquisition of food, medicine, spare parts and necessary supplies for the Caribbean country.
Saab was arrested in Cape Verde in June 2020 by the authorities of that country under an international arrest warrant issued by the US, which accuses him of money laundering.
Washington maintains that Saab did not have diplomatic status at the time of his arrest and tried to make it appear that the appointment occurred after his arrest.
Statement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela rejects the decision of a United States judge who doesn’t recognize the diplomatic immunity of Álex Saab, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the decision adopted by a judge of the southern district of Florida of the United States of America who does not know the envoy’s diplomatic immunity Venezuelan special Alex Naín Saab Morán in the framework of the spurious judicial process followed against him in retaliation for his actions to help overcome the criminal effects of the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States of America against Venezuela, the decision of the district judge constitutes a frank gross violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations that ignores the international obligations assumed by the United States of America as a state party to that international instrument, including the Duty to respect the inviolability and immunity of diplomatic agents in their transit between two states.
Venezuela denounces that the aforementioned judicial decision sets a dangerous precedent in relations between States by allowing the US authorities to violate the inviolability of official correspondence and diplomatic personnel based on an illegitimate and unilateral declaration of ignorance by the authorities of the violating accrediting state of the Popular sovereignty of Venezuela, in the same way the decision of the judge of the Southern district involves a new violation of the Human Rights of the citizen Alex Naín Saab Morán that prolongs his illegitimate deprivation of liberty and adds to the violations of due process and personal integrity of which he has been a victim since his arbitrary arrest by the government authorities of the Republic of Cape Verde and his subsequent kidnapping to the United States of America; Imperial arrogance, showing off its cruelty and cynicism, chose a date on which the Christian people gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus and honor their values of reconciliation and justice, such as Christmas Eve, to commit one more outrage against Venezuela and an outrage against a country diplomat.
The United States is obliged to release Álex, a good and innocent man in compliance with international law; The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will not rest until justice is done and its full freedom is achieved Caracas December 24, 2022.
