Venezuela’s bid to save ‘diplomat’ from US charges takes hit

By JOSHUA GOODMAN

MIAMI (AP) — For two years, Venezuela’s socialist government has been fighting to extricate from the U.S. justice system an insider businessman it claims was on an ultra-secret mission to Iran when he was arrested on a U.S. warrant during a routine fuel stop in Africa. The campaign to win the release of Alex Saab suffered a hit Monday when U.S. prosecutors introduced documents casting doubt on defense evidence underlying his claim of diplomatic immunity from prosecution. The new documents are contained in federal prosecutors’ reply to Saab’s motion to dismiss a criminal indictment out of Miami for money laundering. They include copies of a purported diplomatic passport that raise questions about the time and manner in which Saab purportedly was named a special government envoy.