Versión Español
The pieces of the puzzle surrounding the extradition of Álex Saab and the Chavista route to prevent it are beginning to fall into place: Andrés Pastrana, former Colombian president, said on Twitter that the regime’s strategy to stop Saab’s extradition is “to suspend the Cape Verdean Supreme Court with the excuse of the COVID.” The intention is to gain enough time until the U.S. elections are held, to wait for an eventual victory for Joe Biden, and thus be able to negotiate with the United States.
Estrategia para evitar extradición de Álex Saab consiste en suspender actividad del Tribunal Supremo Justicia Cabo Verde, con excusa del COVID19, me indica fuente cercana a @NicolasMaduro. Esperan elecciones de USA. Esto se planeó en reunión con los 2 caboverdianos en Miraflores.
— Andrés Pastrana A (@AndresPastrana_) August 27, 2020
Context of the disclosure
Recent events have been confusing and turbulent: the meeting of two Cape Verdeans in Miraflores with Maduro and the Chavista high command, as well as the weapons seized in Florida linked to the two characters and Saab, have generated many concerns about what action the regime would take to prevent the extradition of the frontman of Nicolás Maduro and Tareck El Aissami. In fact, the links of the Cape Verdean businessman who was in Miraflores with the State of Cape Verde, along with his family relationship with a 26-year-old judge, only generated greater suspicions about the possibility of a Chavista attempt to stop the extradition.
But now, the picture is clearer, Pastrana revealed what the regime is up to: it is buying time and hoping for a Democratic victory, pointing out that its source is someone very close to the Venezuelan tyrant.
The news revealed by former President Pastrana should come as no surprise. Alex Saab is a key figure in the Chavista criminal conglomerate; it would have been strange if the regime had not tried to rescue one of its most important men. Moreover, the idea of waiting for a change in the U.S. administration, concerning the behavior of the Democrats who have positions diametrically opposed to Trump, maybe the only escape route for Saab to avoid ending up collaborating with the U.S. justice system.
With the regime’s plan laid bare, the only thing left to do is to keep up the pressure on Cape Verde to do what it has to do: approve the extradition. These are crucial days to know if Alex Saab will arrive in the United States to sign the “American dream” in orange.
