They arrested Alex Saab’s main lawyer in Cape Verde

The Senior lawyer in Cape Verde for Colombian businessman Álex Saab, alleged leader of the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro, was stopped when he was going to visit his client in the African country, where he is arrested at the request of the United States for alleged money laundering.

Avocado José Manuel Pinto Monteiro He was arrested on Wednesday as he tried to “enter the house” in which Saab lives under house arrest, in order to “maintain his daily interview with him”, according to the legal team in a statement.

Pinto Monteiro, one of Cape Verde’s “most experienced” lawyers, “protested against the harshness of the search to which he was subjected before he could enter the house” on the island of Sal, says the note, stressing that “his arrest is unprecedented”.

“We urge the government of Cape Verde to reconsider its position and to stop interfering in the defense team” of Saab, underlined the legal team, which denounced the “undemocratic behavior of the Cape Verdean authorities” .

Last Monday, the defense of the Colombian businessman reported that Cape Verde had refused that day, for the fourth time, to its lawyers to enter the country.

Saab was arrested on June 12 when the plane in which he was traveling stopped to refuel at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on the Cape Verdean island of Sal, following a US request via Interpol for alleged money laundering.

The government and a court of the African country have approved the extradition of the alleged figurehead, appointed by Venezuela “special envoy” and “deputy permanent representative” to the African Union, although the latter appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice of Cape Verde.

Last week, the Venezuelan government demanded from Cape Verde the “immediate release” of the Colombian businessman, whose detention it considers illegal on the grounds that the authorities of this island country of West Africa have violated his diplomatic immunity.

The businessman, born in Barranquilla (Colombia) and of Lebanese origin, is linked to several companies, including Group Grand Limited (GGL), accused of providing food at an additional cost for a program to help the underprivileged of the Maduro diet, says TAPER.

A US government official said in July 2019 that with the CLAPs, Saabs and three of Maduro’s stepchildren, they had apparently profited from “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

(With information from EFE)

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