MIAMI — Venezuela's government deported Alex Saab, a Colombian-born business owner and close ally of Nicolás Maduro, to the United States to face judicial proceedings in U.S. courts. The deportation occurred less than three years after President Joe Biden pardoned Saab as part of a prisoner swap.

The Venezuelan immigration authority said it made the decision based on several ongoing criminal investigations in the U.S. In its statement, the authority referred to Saab only as a "Colombian citizen," a designation consistent with Venezuelan law, which prohibits the extradition of its nationals.

Federal prosecutors have been investigating Saab's role in an alleged bribery conspiracy involving Venezuelan government contracts to import food. The investigation stems from a 2021 case the Justice Department brought against Saab's longtime partner, Alvaro Pulido. That prosecution centers around the CLAP program, set up by Maduro to provide staples to poor Venezuelans. Saab amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts. U.S. officials have described him as Maduro's "bag man."

Maduro and acting President Delcy Rodríguez previously claimed that Saab was a Venezuelan diplomat who had been illegally detained during a refueling stop while en route to Iran for a humanitarian mission. After Maduro's ouster, Rodríguez demoted Saab, firing him from her cabinet and stripping him of his role as the main conduit for foreign companies looking to invest in Venezuela.

Saab was captured in a U.S. military raid in January and is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan.