Biden swaps another Viktor Bout for 10 small-fry American hostages (and fugitive Fat Leonard) held in Venezuela
Joe Biden has gotten some hostages back from Venezuela, based on a prisoner trade, and he must be so proud of himself.
According to the Associated Press:
MIAMI (AP) — The United States freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the return of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
The deal represents the Biden administration’s boldest move yet to improve relations with the major oil-producing nation and extract concessions from the self-proclaimed socialist leader. The largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history comes weeks after the White House agreed to suspend some sanctions, following a commitment by Maduro to work toward free and fair conditions for the 2024 presidential election.
Maduro celebrated the return of Alex Saab as a “triumph for truth” over a U.S.-led campaign of lies, threats and torture against someone his government considers a Venezuelan diplomat who was illegally arrested on a U.S. warrant.
“President Biden,” a defiant Maduro said with Saab at his side for a hero’s welcome at the presidential palace, “Venezuela stands strong, following its own model. We won’t be anyone’s colony.”
Here's the celebration in Caracas:
The U.S. released Maduro’s crony Alex Saab, who was in custody in Miami, in exchange for 10 American citizens who were imprisoned in Venezuela. According to Reuters, Venezuela will release 36 prisoners, including 12 US citizens, in exchange for Saab ァオ pic.twitter.com/sjyhGXwAPf
— Caracas Chronicles (@CaracasChron) December 20, 2023
(Notice the discrepancy in the numbers released -- it's early and the numbers are all over the place.)
Saab is one of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro's closest allies. The AP identified him as Maduro's "bagman." He was picked up in Cape Verde by lawmen a few years ago for crimes he was charged with in Miami, while flying to Iran to negotiate oil deals with Iran's mullahs. He's by all accounts a big crook with at least comparable stature to Viktor Bout, the Russian international arms dealer who was swapped for pipsqueak American basketball star Brittney Griner who was in the can in Russia for a minor drug conviction. Saab has been accused of stealing food aid from Venezuela's starving poor through corrupt contracts and has a lot of ties at least with Venezuela's abundant drug dealers. He's also full of ties to Iran's mullahs and knows the terrorist community there well.
The ten Americans released included six who were classified as "wrongly detained" and I guess four who weren't. Some of the ones let out were the young businessman from the San Francisco Bay Area who was picked up and taken hostage by Maduro on wild, trumped-up charges, and a couple of mercenaries in Maduro's dungeons for trying to overthrow Maduro a couple years ago. At least one got himself in the can as an illegal alien who crossed illegally into Venezuela from Colombia. In Venezuela, crossing illegally will get you thrown into the can.
In other words, most of these characters were small fry and the Bidenites should have been able to muscle Maduro into freeing them or else. Instead, Biden handed over Saab, his biggest catch left among the Venezuelan crooks in federal hands.
The other character being released is a Malaysian businessman known as "Fat Leonard" who ten years ago plied the Pentagon elites with cash and hookers and managed to rip off $35 million from the U.S. military through corrupt contracts. He escaped to Venezuela from his supposed home detention in San Diego based on the federal officials who were supposed to be watching him, not watching him. Fat Leonard slipped right through their fingers and made his way to Caracas, and apparently ran out of bribe money enough to keep from being handed over.
Sound like a smart trade?
Juan Forero of the Wall Street Journal posted a tweet thread from a former U.S. official named Marshall Billingslea who was an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, explaining why it isn't.
1/5 Alex Saab was sanctioned, indicted on multiple criminal charges, arrested & extradited following several years of investigation by @USTreasury, multiple law enforcement agencies & @TheJusticeDept.
— Marshall S. Billingslea (@M_S_Billingslea) December 20, 2023
Multiple nations across Latin America, Europe & Asia worked together…
It's a must-read for clarity on why this deal stinks bigtime:
Here's what Venezuela's version of The Onion, translated as The Bipolar Giant Rat is saying:
Venezuela's The Onion: 'Government exchanges Alex Saab for 34 prisoners who will be replaced in the coming days.' 于 https://t.co/a1QCDb3bVD
— Germania Rodriguez Poleo (@iamGermania) December 20, 2023
Here's what Germania Poleo, a Venezuelan dissident journalist who now lives in the states has perfectly summed up about this:
wow, it appears the Biden administration handed over Maduro's biggest money launderer #AlexSaab in exchange for the two Americans caught in a failed 'invasion.' The US is being very clear: Venezuelan democracy is not a prio and they want Maduro on their good side. 1/2
— Germania Rodriguez Poleo (@iamGermania) December 19, 2023
What a portrait of weakness. Once again Joe Biden swaps out a big fish for a lot of small fry, opens the door to more hostage taking, doesn't even do himself a favor at electiontime as Latino voters blanch at this travesty and in the end reduces American global influence even further than it already is.