Alex Saab pleads guilty to money laundering; court sets January 20, 2027 sentencing date

Alex Saab pleaded guilty to Count 1 at a change-of-plea hearing before Judge Williams, according to the court record; the court set January 20, 2027 for sentencing, according to Reuters/EFE.

On David Placeres's channel, investigative journalist Joseph Poliszuk said Saab "designed, structured and ran the entire financial structure tied to the criminality, the sanctions violations, the money laundering" for Nicolás Maduro, and said Diosdado Cabello was reportedly the one who came to detain him before his extradition. Daniel Lara Farías, for his part, described on his channel how Saab bought food nearing expiration with preferential dollars to resell it to the state.

«Alex, for Nicolás Maduro, was the one who designed, structured and ran the entire financial structure tied to the criminality, the sanctions violations, the money laundering, the legitimizing of capital.»— Joseph Poliszuk (interviewed by David Placeres), September 16, 2026 · watch