Venezuelan intelligence agents have detained Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who served as industry minister under Nicolás Maduro and allegedly functioned as the regime's primary financial operator, in what could expose simmering fissures within the country's ruling establishment as interim president Delcy Rodríguez consolidates control whilst accommodating US demands.

Saab, 54, was reportedly apprehended in the early hours of February 4 at a luxury residence in Caracas during what sources described as a joint operation involving Venezuela's Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) and the FBI, according to multiple media outlets citing intelligence sources. Raúl Gorrín, a billionaire media magnate who owns the Globovisión television channel, was also reportedly detained at the same location.

“That is not within my area of responsibility, and I have no information about what you are asking,” said National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, the acting president’s brother, in response to a state TV reporter’s question over Saab’s whereabouts.

The arrests, if confirmed, would represent the most significant move against Maduro's inner circle since the January 3 US military operation that extracted the authoritarian leader to face narco-terrorism charges in New York. They occur as Rodríguez attempts to balance consolidating power over Venezuela's fractured security apparatus whilst meeting Washington's expectations for cooperation; a precarious arrangement that raises questions about whether other senior regime figures, particularly hard-line Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, might face similar fates.

A US official confirmed to media outlets that Saab had been detained through collaboration between American and Venezuelan authorities, with extradition to the United States expected within days. But Saab's attorney Luigi Giuliano rejected the detention claims as "fake news," insisting to El Espectador that his client remained "doing fine in Caracas." A Gorrín spokesperson informed the New York Times that he remained at liberty as of February 4 evening, fuelling contradictory accounts surrounding the operation.

Maduro's disgraced financier

Saab became a central figure in Chavismo's financial networks, accused by US prosecutors of laundering approximately $350mn through corruption involving state contracts designed to feed and house impoverished Venezuelans. His alleged schemes centred on two government-funded programmes: Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela, intended to build houses for the poor, and the CLAP food distribution initiative for low-income families.

According to ACAMS, US authorities charged that Saab imported prefabricated construction materials from Ecuador at inflated prices whilst delivering substandard housing, bribing officials across multiple government agencies to facilitate the fraud. Through the CLAP programme, he allegedly purchased low-quality, nutrient-deficient food at inflated prices, forcing families to pay in advance for boxes containing pasta, rice, flour and canned goods from unknown brands.

Saab built his network through high-level political connections. He met Maduro in 2010 when the future president served as foreign minister, subsequently receiving $530mn for housing construction following an agreement signed by then-presidents Hugo Chávez and Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos in 2011. Following Chávez's death in 2013, Saab's influence expanded under Maduro, particularly after the 2016 creation of the CLAP programme, through which he allegedly laundered an additional $350mn.

His operations involved complex international networks. Shell companies including Group Grand Limited, registered in Mexico and Hong Kong, facilitated transfers totalling hundreds of millions of dollars through banks in Ecuador, Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, and Switzerland. Mexican authorities filed complaints after identifying suspicious transactions involving overpriced, poor-quality food destined for Venezuela.

The legal odyssey

Saab was arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 under a US warrant whilst flying to Iran, then extradited to America in 2021 to face money laundering charges. However, in December 2023 he was freed in an exchange arranged with the Biden administration as part of a deal which paved the way for the July 2024 election, subsequently rigged by the Chavista regime.

Maduro rewarded his ally by appointing him industry minister in 2024, a position Rodríguez stripped from him on January 16, a few weeks after US forces captured Maduro. The abrupt firing pointed to early distancing from figures closely associated with the deposed leader, though Saab's detention would represent a far more dramatic escalation.

Gorrín, detained alongside Saab according to intelligence sources, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and indicted in Florida on charges including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering. US prosecutors allege he paid bribes to Venezuelan officials for preferential access to foreign exchange transactions.

Compliance and control

The arrests occur as Rodríguez navigates competing imperatives: consolidating power over Venezuela's security apparatus whilst demonstrating cooperation with Washington that President Donald Trump has made explicit. Since assuming interim leadership, she has removed several Maduro-era officials including the head of presidential security and the communications minister, appointing new commanders to regional defence zones in apparent efforts to replace potentially disloyal elements.

Yet other senior regime figures retain their positions, most notably Cabello, who commands feared intelligence services accused by the United Nations of crimes against humanity and controls armed pro-regime motorcycle gangs known as colectivos. Russia's ambassador to Venezuela claimed last month that Maduro's capture was facilitated by internal betrayals, suggesting the security apparatus had been penetrated by American intelligence.

Saab's detention, whether driven by Rodríguez's own initiative or US pressure, tests the boundaries of how thoroughly Washington can reshape Venezuela's ruling establishment whilst working through Chavista administrators as part of the three-step transition plan laid out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump and Rubio have warned that Rodríguez could face consequences worse than Maduro's if she fails to toe the US line, maintaining explicit threats of further military intervention alongside economic leverage through control of oil revenues.

Rodríguez has so far displayed willingness to satisfy Trump's demands. She has proposed legislation to open Venezuela's petroleum sector to private investment, removing restrictions that currently limit foreign participation in the country's vast oil reserves. Her government has also released over 400 political prisoners since assuming power, and announced plans for amnesty provisions, moves that align directly with American directives whilst maintaining sufficient revolutionary rhetoric to preserve credibility amongst Chavistas.

The White House, meanwhile, is quietly developing contingency plans should Rodríguez's arrangement falter, exploring installation of a technocratic emergency council focused on preventing state collapse rather than democratic transition. Such planning reflects concern that sudden regime fracture or factional conflict within the triumvirate governing Venezuela could trigger violence whilst disrupting control over critical infrastructure.

Who’s next?

Saab's reported detention raises immediate questions about Cabello's vulnerability. As the regime's brutal enforcer with deep ties to security forces and paramilitary networks, he embodies both an essential pillar of order and a potential obstacle to full accommodation with Washington. US officials are reportedly mapping the real balance of power in Caracas, including contacts linked to Cabello, with the overriding test being who can prevent internal rifts and maintain stability.

But targeting Cabello carries substantial risks. His control over coercive apparatus and ideological commitment to Chavismo position him differently from Saab, a businessman whose value lay in shady financial operations rather than command over armed forces. Removing him could spark precisely the factional violence and institutional paralysis that both Washington and Rodríguez seek to avoid.

Notably, Cabello's flagship television programme Con el Mazo Dando (Striking with the Club) did not air on state television this week for the first time since its inception in 2014. The weekly show has served as Cabello's primary platform for projecting revolutionary commitment and publicly threatening opponents, journalists and dissidents. Its sudden absence stokes speculation about whether the ruling party veteran's political fortunes are shifting.

For now, Saab's arrest serves notice to the remaining Chavista officials that proximity to Maduro no longer guarantees protection within Venezuela's transformed political landscape.