{"id":68357,"date":"2020-07-10T03:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T03:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armando.info\/?p=68357"},"modified":"2022-03-09T19:42:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T19:42:54","slug":"a-pdvsa-falcon-flew-over-alex-saabs-alcatraz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armando.info\/en\/a-pdvsa-falcon-flew-over-alex-saabs-alcatraz\/","title":{"rendered":"A PDVSA Falcon Flew over Alex Saab\u2019s Alcatraz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The details of a four-day stopover in Bissau, June 26-30, of a Dassault Falcon 900EX of PDVSA, Venezuela\u2019s state oil company, seem extraordinary, both for what happened and what might have happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it has not been possible to confirm the official story with the governments of Caracas and Bissau, sources contacted this week in a collaborative report between the Expresso<\/em> newspaper from Lisbon and Armando.info<\/strong> gave versions that allow outlining the unusual reasons for the aircraft\u2019s flight from the Caribbean to West Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending the plane to Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, was part of a desperate attempt by Nicolas Maduro to learn about the situation of Alex Saab - his alleged front man and confirmed trader - in the neighboring Cape Verde archipelago, where he has been held since June 12, after his arrest by Interpol, and to assess a possible rescue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau are Portuguese-speaking nations in West Africa, former colonies of the Iberian country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saab and his partner, fellow Colombian Alvaro Pulido Vargas, are facing money-laundering charges in the federal court of the Southern District<\/a> of the State of Florida, made in July 2019. The United States requested an Interpol red notice to be issued because of this accusation, which led to Saab\u2019s arrest as soon as he landed at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal, one of Cape Verde\u2019s islands. Now, Washington is requesting his extradition through a legal process that could stretch out for up to 65 days before a decision is made.Saab and Pulido Vargas \u2015the latter, allegedly hiding in Caracas - were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Justice in the summer of 2019<\/a> for profiting from corruption in the business of the so-called Clap boxes, and it is not ruled out that they could be prosecuted in other U.S. jurisdictions for their participation in that business and in the illegal trade of Venezuelan gold<\/a> to countries like Turkey. In Colombia, there is an arrest warrant for Saab. In Mexico, the authorities of the Financial Intelligence Unit have announced an investigation<\/a> into the web of complicity that the Colombian business duo weave in that country in the development of the food supply business for the CLAPs<\/a>. While it is known that the justice system of UK is also showing an interest in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is almost a month since Alex Saab was arrested in Cape Verde. He was captured on June 12 after an Interpol red notice was issued.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, the major trophy for the Western intelligence services is not the eventual prosecution of Saab, but the information he certainly has on how Maduro\u2019s inner circle and businesses work. His testimony could help decode the scheme that still oxygenates the finances of pro-Chavez leaders and give them a lethal blow. That is why the Venezuelan government is also moving with unusual urgency and emphasis to free Saab from his imprisonment and bring him back to Caracas, something that has become a priority for Chavismo<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a first official reaction, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza affirmed in a statement that Saab was on a humanitarian and commercial mission as an \u201cagent of the Bolivarian Government\u201d for which he had a diplomatic passport and immunity. He then sent two letters to the president of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca. The African leader admitted in recent days, in a declaration of calculated naivety, that he did not remember ever having received so many calls from foreign governments as it happened since the arrest of Alex Saab, and described the case as \u201csensitive\u201d for the justice system of his country because of the interests involved. But while that was happening in the formal channels of diplomacy, Caracas began to make other arrangements. The flight of PDVSA\u2019s airplane YV2486 was part of those arrangements. In January of the current year, the plane was included in the sanctions list of OFAC<\/a>, of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as one of the aircraft on which Chavista<\/em> leaders travel. Its route through the Cape Verde archipelago appeared on flight tracking websites and sparked rumors on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The PDVSA plane with registration number YV2486 is one of the Venezuelan assets included in the OFAC list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury for being used to transport leaders of Chavismo<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Fleet to the Rescue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On June 26, PDVSA\u2019s Falcon landed at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau, in African land, about 1200 km (746 mi) from the prison of Saint Vincent, the island of Cape Verde to which Saab was transferred after his arrest on the island of Sal. According to sources linked to local authorities, the flight crew and the passengers did not go through immigration or to the city. Hence, they were not identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their stay in Bissau, from June 26 to at least June 30, the occupants of the plane stayed in a military facility, on the north side of the airport. The information states that the group included special operations agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before landing in Bissau, the plane had been in Cuba for several days. Sources contacted by Armando.info<\/strong> said that the presence of Cuban intelligence agents among the passengers on that flight possibly indicates that the group\u2019s mission was to assess the potential rescue of Saab. According to this version, the flight also carried valuables to pay bribes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another source in Caracas has a different version. The aircraft was carrying a group of ambassadors and diplomatic personnel, including a special envoy from Maduro. If that were the case, it is difficult to understand why the passengers were confined to military facilities at Bissau\u2019s Osvaldo Vieira airport for four days, instead of making arrangements directly in Cape Verde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After its long journey, the PDVSA plane with registration number YV2486 finally returned to Maiquetia International Airport from Senegal, on July 5, coincidentally, the day of the independence of Venezuela and Cape Verde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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