Alvaro Pulido, a businessman wanted in the United States over alleged bribery involving senior Venezuelan officials, has been taken into US custody following a joint investigation by federal agencies.
Pulido is due to make his initial court appearance in Miami on Tuesday, Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokesperson for a Homeland Security Task Force, said. She did not disclose how he came to be in US custody.
The Colombian-born businessman was indicted in federal court in Miami in 2019 and again in 2021. The US Drug Enforcement Administration and State Department had offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.
Prosecutors allege that Pulido and his longtime business partner, Alex Saab, used offshore shell companies to channel bribes to allies of Nicolás Maduro. In return, they allegedly secured Venezuelan state contracts to import food and medicine and build low-cost housing during a period of widespread hardship.
Pulido was arrested in Venezuela in 2023 during a wide-ranging corruption investigation into the state oil company PDVSA. The operation was led by Delcy RodrÃguez, who was then serving as Maduro’s vice-president and later became Venezuela’s acting president after Maduro was ousted by the United States in January.
Venezuelan authorities have not publicly commented on Pulido’s detention. His case comes as RodrÃguez faces pressure from within the ruling coalition over US efforts to bring Venezuelan insiders wanted for offences including corruption and drug trafficking into custody.
Saab, who is also from Colombia, was deported to the United States by RodrÃguez in May. He pleaded guilty last month in a related bribery case, agreeing to co-operate against Maduro and others and to forfeit $195 million in criminal proceeds linked to the alleged corruption scheme.
