Secret documents reveal Was Alex Saab, Maduro's ally in Venezuela, an informant for America?

The United States has declassified court documents that showed Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman close to the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was an informant for the United States Drug Control Agency.

Declassified US judicial documents showed, on Wednesday, that Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman close to the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was an informant for the US Drug Control Agency (DIA).

According to these documents, the Public Prosecution Office confirms that the 49-year-old man, who is currently imprisoned on charges of completing suspicious deals for the Maduro government, became a "confidential informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration" for a year in 2018.

During that period, Saab handed over more than $12 million obtained through his illegal activities to the US authorities, with whom he signed an agreement to turn himself in and face a money laundering trial.

Saab and his trading partner, Alvaro Pulido, are accused in the United States of running a network that exploited food aid destined for oil-rich Venezuela, mired in a severe economic crisis.

According to the indictment, the two men transferred $350 million from Venezuela to accounts under their control in the United States and elsewhere.

The first contact between Saab and the US authorities took place in August 2016 in Bogota.

In the Colombian capital, the DEA and the FBI showed him the data they had collected about his deals in Venezuela.

The court documents said that as an informant for the DEA, Saab provided "information about the bribes he paid and the crimes he committed."

Hours after declassifying these documents, Saab denied that he was an informant.

His attorney, David Rifkin, said in a statement that his client "wants to make clear that the sole purpose of those meetings (with the DEA) was to confirm that neither he nor any company associated with him did anything wrong."

He explained that all transactions between Saab and US officials "has taken place with the full knowledge and support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

According to the documents, cooperation between the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Saab ended in May 2019 after Saab missed the deadline to surrender to the United States.

Two months later, the US authorities accused him of money laundering.

Trump calls at length French right-wing candidate Eric Zemmour. What did he say about Macron?

French far-right candidate Eric Zemmour had a phone call with former US President Donald Trump, describing the call as long and warm. What did Trump say about Macron?

The French far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, said that he had a phone call with former US President Donald Trump, describing the call as long and warm, according to a tweet for his campaign for the French presidency in 2022.

Zammour added, in subsequent press statements, that the call lasted for 40 minutes, in which Trump advised him to “stay the same,” saying: “In order to win, you must never change your plan, and never give up. The media will find you tough; never change if you You wanted to win. Stay authentic and brave."

French media revealed that Trump will not officially support this far-right candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, while he was quoted as saying, in the call, that French President Emmanuel Macron is an "elegant man" Chic.

Zemmour commented, "We have one thing in common. Mr. Trump wants the United States to remain the United States, and I want France to remain France. That is what is important."

According to the statement of his campaign team, the candidate of the "Restitution Party" and Trump discussed several files in their contact, including immigration, security and the economy, whether in France or the United States.

Zemmour, a Jew of Algerian origin, plans to run in the presidential elections, in what is considered a controversial figure due to his hostility to Islam and immigrants in France.

France is preparing to hold the first round of the presidential elections on April 10, and if the candidates fail to achieve the majority needed to win the office, a second round will be held on April 24 to choose one of the candidates who won the first and second places in the first round.