Court filings: Maduro ally met with US prior to arrest

By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A businessman accused of siphoning off millions in state contracts from Venezuela met secretly with U.S. law enforcement to provide intelligence against Nicolás Maduro’s government prior to being charged. That’s according to new filings in a case against a University of Miami professor. Bruce Bagley had been a top expert on organized crime in Latin America. He’s set to be sentenced next week on charges tied to nearly $3 million in payments from the businessman, Alex Saab. Bagley’s attorney argues his client was told that the payments were to conceal money for attorneys who accompanied Saab when he allegedly gave law enforcement officials intelligence on Venezuela’s government.