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August, 7th, 2021
The Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab has been imprisoned in Cabo Verde since June 12, 2020, for trying to buy humanitarian supplies in legal international trade but in violation of illegal US sanctions. He is facing extradition to the US. The case raises dangerous precedents in terms of extraterritorial judicial abuse by the US in enforcing its unilateral coercive measures on Venezuela and 38 other countries, comprising a third of humanity.
The government of Cabo Verde, operating under US orders, has ignored previous legal findings to release the diplomat from the regional Economic Community of West Africa regional court and from the United Nations Human Rights Committee. In addition, the INTERPOL Red Alert, which was the basis of his arrest, has been proven to be issued after he was arrested, in the name of someone else, and was subsequently canceled. Even if the Red Alert had been executed correctly, Mr. Saab would have been exempt due to his diplomatic immunity.
The Cabo Verde Constitutional Court is expected to rule on August 13 on an appeal to reject the extradition. This comes after the Cabo Verde Supreme Court had denied Mr. Saab’s appeal last March.
If this final appeal in Cabo Verde courts fails, his legal team will continue the fight in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Florida to quash the indictment based on the defendant’s diplomatic status. As a special envoy of the Venezuelan government, Mr. Saab enjoys absolute diplomatic immunity based on the Vienna Convention and affirmed by US law.
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