Venezuela and US Conduct Prisoner Swap, Including Known Nicolas Maduro Ally for Fugitive 'Fat Leonard'

The United States and Venezuela agreed to a prisoner swap as the US gets 10 Americans imprisoned by the Nicolas Maduro regime, as well as the infamous fugitive "Fat Leonard." In exchange, the US has agreed to free top Maduro ally, Alex Saab.

The biggest fish in the deal is, of course, the man known as "Fat Leonard," who is at the center of one of the biggest Pentagon bribery scandals in US military history. He escaped detainment in the US and fled to Venezuela where he was captured by Interpol.

The Associated Press noted that this deal between the two countries which have been at odds with one another represents the boldest moves by the Biden administration yet in regards to US-Venezuela relations. The South American country is a major oil producer but has been a political opponent of the US for years, ever since Hugo Chavez won the presidency and it continued into the Maduro regime.

The deal is largely seen as a win for the US as this is now the largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela's history. It came weeks after the White House agreed to suspend some sanctions in exchange for Maduro agreeing to conduct free and fair elections in Venezuela.

As part of their agreement, the US also announced that Venezuela has agreed to free 20 Venezuelan political prisoners, including opposition leader Roberto Abdul. The Venezuelan government also agreed to suspend the arrest warrants of three other Venezuelan citizens opposing the Maduro government.

Who Did Venezuela Get in Exchange for 10 American Prisoners and 'Fat Leonard?'

As for Venezuela, the Maduro regime will get the man accused of money laundering on behalf of Nicolas Maduro, Alex Saab. He was arrested in 2021 during a stopover in the African country of Cape Verde. Authorities there then extradited him to the US where he remained imprisoned until the US-Venezuela prisoner swap.

The Maduro government maintains Saab is a diplomat, but he is accused by the United States of siphoning off $350 million from Venezuelan government contracts by fraudulently using favorable exchange rates, per the BBC.

He was described by the US Department of Treasury as a "profiteer orchestrating a vast corruption network" that enabled d "President Nicolás Maduro and his regime to significantly profit from food imports and distribution in Venezuela."

Who Is Infamous Fraudster 'Fat Leonard,' Whom Venezuela Is Releasing to US Custody?

Leonard "Fat Leonard" Francis is a Malaysian businessman who was at the center of a decade-long bribery scheme involving dozens of American Navy officers. This scandal has led to one of the largest bribery investigations in US military history and has led to nearly two dozen Navy officials, defense contractors and others being convicted and sentenced over various fraud and corruption charges.

"Fat Leonard," who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 350 pounds at one time, owned and operated the Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. or GDMA. it supplied food, water, and fuel to US Navy vessels as they traveled across Asia and he reportedly bribed naval officers with expensive cigars, concert tickets, and wild sex parties at luxury hotels to get those lucrative government contracts.

He was arrested in San Diego during a federal sting operation in 2013. He was found guilty of his crimes and was scheduled to be sentenced in September before he snipped off his ankle monitor and escaped the country. He was trying to flee to Russia but was arrested in Venezuela.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Venezuela Turns Over Fugitive 'Fat Leonard' to U.S. in Prisoner Swap | WSJ News