Venezuela’s Maduro appoints to his Cabinet a close ally pardoned by the US in a prisoner swap

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has appointed to his Cabinet a close ally who was pardoned by U.S. President Joe Biden last year as part of a prisoner swap and assurances from the South American country to hold a free and fair presidential election in 2024. Maduro on Friday named Alex Saab minister of industry and national production. The president tasked Saab with promoting Venezuela’s industrial system under what he described as a new economic model. Saab returned to Venezuela a free man in December after being in custody since 2020, when authorities in Cape Verde arrested him on a U.S. warrant for money laundering charges.