Venezuelan Parliament Demands Respect for Diplomat Alex Saab

On Wednesday, the Venezuelan Congress approved an agreement to demand respect for the diplomatic immunity of Alex Saab, who is currently detained in the United States after being deported from Cape Verde in October 2021.

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Despite being a special envoy of the Bolivarian government, Saab was illegally and arbitrarily detained while he was carrying out international agreements to obtain food for the Venezuelan people amid the economic blockade imposed by the United States.

In a resolution approved unanimously, the Venezuelan Congress recalled that the 1961 Vienna Convention establishes the immunity and inviolability of diplomats, who cannot be subjected to any form of arrest or detention.

"The Cape Verde State should be ashamed of having perpetrated the unworthy acts that it carried out against Alex Saab. It is shameful that a country like the United States, which prides itself on respecting the rule of law, continues with this act of revenge and retaliation," the Congress President Jorge Rodriguez.

The tweet refers to Alex Saab's wife and reads, "What a force Camilla Fabri!"

"Thanks to people like Alex Saab, we have managed to defeat the most brutal aggression that the Venezuelan people have ever received... He was subjected to unspeakable forms of physical and psychological abuse as a diplomatic representative," Rodriguez added.

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Court of Appeals held a hearing to determine whether the Colombian businessman Saab, who has been a prisoner in the United States since Oct. 2021, has diplomatic status or not.

Washington accuses him of "conspiracy to launder money" arguing that this businessman operated as a figurehead for the Bolivarian government during the process of importing food for the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP).