Colombian businessman Álvaro Pulido Vargas, an associate of Álex Saab, was transferred by the DEA from a Caracas prison to Florida to face federal charges of money laundering, fraud, and corruption linked to state food and oil schemes.
Federal authorities moved Álvaro Pulido Vargas from an Internado Judicial El Rodeo I cell in Miranda state into United States custody on October 11, 2026. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a Miami federal court on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The Drug Enforcement Administration carried out the transfer, flying the Colombian businessman to Florida to answer two active judicial proceedings in federal court (according to federal sources cited by the investigative unit of El Tiempo).
Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Task Force, confirmed that Pulido is under United States custody following a joint investigation led by the DEA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Prosecution of Pulido and Saab Financial Networks
United States prosecutors link Pulido directly to the financial networks of Álex Saab, who has been accused of acting as a financial frontman for Nicolás Maduro. Pulido faces federal indictments out of the Southern District of Florida, where he was formally charged in October 2019 with money laundering conspiracy and again in 2021 over corrupt procurement practices.
Carlos Paparoni, a political leader, stated in an Instagram video that both men operated an identical criminal apparatus designed to plunder national wealth and profit from human misery. Pulido utilized the alias Germán Enrique Rubio Salas to conceal a past background linked to narcotics trafficking in Colombia and a conviction in Italy. The network established by Saab and Pulido operated a web of shell companies across low-tax and offshore jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, alongside firms like Fondo Global de Construcción which allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities.
Prosecutors estimate the money laundering scheme totals approximately 350 million dollars moved through financial institutions in Antigua and Barbuda, Malta, and the United Arab Emirates. The Justice Department maintains that the operation systematically inflated food import costs and funneled money intended for vulnerable social populations into United States bank accounts through kickbacks paid to government officials. Contracts for housing projects initiated between 2011 and 2015 involved fraudulent import documents and fake invoices for construction materials that never reached Venezuela.
Arrest in the PDVSA-Cripto Corruption Purge
Venezuelan authorities arrested Pulido in April 2023 during a sweeping internal crackdown on state corruption known as the PDVSA-Cripto scandal, operating out of a facility in Guatire, Miranda state, before his transfer to Florida.
That domestic investigation targeted illicit operations within the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., involving Tareck El Aissami. Prosecutors alleged that Pulido operated an array of private intermediaries that marketed crude oil shipments without registering corresponding revenues in state coffers, leaving a hole exceeding 1,500 million dollars.
International law enforcement pursued the businessman across multiple jurisdictions for years.
Caracas Remains Silent as Pulido Joins Saab in Florida
Official channels in Caracas remained silent regarding the handover, drawing attention to political friction within the interim administration led by Delcy Rodríguez as factions debate cooperation with American prosecutors.
Álvaro Pulido already left the country via Guantánamo to join his partner Alex Saab.
Zair Mundaray, former prosecutor
Other informants suggested to Mundaray that Pulido might still be inside Venezuela awaiting final administrative clearances, though federal reporting from El Tiempo verified his arrival under DEA custody in Florida. The operation follows the May 16, 2026, deportation of Alex Saab, who subsequently entered a guilty plea in a Florida federal court on conspiracy charges to commit money laundering and agreed to cooperate with authorities, handing over 195 million dollars in illicit proceeds.
Investigative reports indicate that two additional individuals tied to the same corporate network could face extradition from Venezuela in the upcoming days.