“A group has called for Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Moran’s immediate and unconditional release from US custody:

The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Nain Saab Moran from the United States where he is being detained.

In 2020, Special Envoy Saab was unlawfully abducted and detained in the Republic of Cape Verde (“Cape Verde”), at the request of the United States with a Red Alert of INTERPOL issued in someone else’s name.

The US recently took Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab to trial in a federal court in Miami, Florida following his illegal arrest and extradition in 2020.

The defence attorneys argued in court that Saab is indeed a Venezuelan diplomat and as such the case must be dismissed. However, the defence team had a lot more to say about the US, the arrest, and the unilateral sanctions against Venezuela.

Saab’s lawyers sought to establish his diplomatic immunity based on official Venezuelan documents, while the US government refused to approve the documents and questioned their credibility.

The US prosecutors argued that the documents provided by the defence team barely gave Saab a “special mission” envoy status which is not covered by the Vienna Diplomatic Agreement.

Venezuelan Foreign Ministry Archive Official Maria Gonzalez, who appeared at the hearing via Zoom, had put forward authentic documents.

However, VSCN in a statement jointly signed by one Dimeji Macaulay, Che Oyinatumba, Ajayi Wiseman, Akande Daniel and Salako Kayode said Saab’s arrest violates international law and customary law, of respecting the immunity for diplomats.

The group called for an end to the continued psychological torture of Alex Saab, stressing that he was on humanitarian missions to procure mechanisms to import medicines, food and other essential products to Venezuela.

VSCN in a statement tagged Free Alex Saab Now; Stop Encroaching On The Sovereignty Of Venezuela!’ explained that the US is worried about the success recorded by Alex Saab, that’s why the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in July and September 2019 imposed coercive measures against the Venezuelan Diplomat and companies providing food, medicines and other essentials to Venezuela.

The statement reads in part, “The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) is a campaign platform of Solidarity with Venezuela, is a coalition of progressives, socialist organisations, left parties, non-governmental organisation, trade union activists, human rights activists and social movements in Nigeria.

“We write to join the international solidarity campaign to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Nain Saab Moran from Florida where he was currently detained illegally against his wish he was unlawfully abducted to the territory of the United States. We call for his release so he can return home to continue his good work for the Venezuelan people and be with his family.

“On June 12th, 2020, Special Envoy Saab was unlawfully abducted and detained in the Republic of Cape Verde (“Cape Verde”), at the request of the United States with a Red Alert of INTERPOL issued in someone else’s name.

“This unprecedented action violates international law and customary law, of respecting the immunity of diplomats. No person deserved to be dealt with the way Diplomat Alex Saab has been treated in the last two years, we campaign for a fair world where people live without oppression and dignity.

“So, therefore, we stand with Mr Alex Saab in this trial period. We call for an end to the continued psychological torture of Alex Saab because he was on humanitarian missions to procure mechanisms to import medicines, food and other essential products to Venezuela.

“The figure of Special Envoy granted him automatic diplomatic immunity, as established by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (arts. 14, 29 and 40). But the US threw this overboard and continued the illegal detention of Diplomatic Alex Saab.

“The United States is worried about the success recorded by Alex Saab that’s why the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in July and September 2019 imposed coercive measures against the Venezuelan Diplomat and companies providing food, medicines and other essentials to Venezuela.

“They also filed a lawsuit where he is accused of participating in the transfer of USD350 million for a housing construction project in Venezuela in 2011. However, the same transfer was investigated in Switzerland and the case was closed as there was no evidence to money laundering against the diplomat.

“To us in VSCN, the action being taken against the Mr Alex Saab was badly politically motivated and from the imperialist empire in America, the administration of Donald Trump in order to give credit to their actions decided to move a warship stationed in Syria to the territory of Cape Verde to coerce all parties and prevent him from being released.

“According to the New York Times, the ship cost the United States 52,000 USD dollars per day, equivalent 3 to 25 million dollars, and it was withdrawn as soon as the Venezuelan diplomat was unlawfully abducted to U.S. territory. We dare to say that the US government is responsible for illegal detention of Alex Saab, like Julian Assange.

“We will not relent in the struggle for a better world and we will not keep silent in the face of crass injustice. We call on all genuine change-seeking revolutionaries all over the world to join forces to compile pressure on the US government to end the economical blockade against Venezuela and free Alex Saab and all others unjustly incarcerated by the US government. We will continue a series of activities such as photo protests, picketing and press campaigns to demand the immediate release of Mr Alex Saab.”

“We proclaim that the world can only be a better place if there is mutual respect for all human society. The world can be a better place if truly the real tenets of democracy can be abided by from all ends and territories,” the statement added.