Maduro ally seeks recognition as Venezuela diplomat in court

By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is in federal court in Miami seeking to dismiss criminal money laundering charges by arguing that he is a Venezuelan diplomat immune from prosecution in the U.S.  A handful of protesters carrying the Venezuelan flag and signs reading “Free Alex Saab” Monday stood outside the Wilke Ferguson federal courthouse at the start of the week-long evidentiary hearing. The 50-year old Colombian businessman was pulled off a private jet in the summer of 2020 during a fuel stop in Cape Verde en route to Iran, where he was sent to negotiate oil deals on behalf of Maduro’s socialist government..