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Monday, 12 October 2026dailybeirut.com
World
US authorities arrested Alvaro Pulido, a businessman sought since 2019 for bribing Venezuelan officials to secure government contracts.
United States authorities announced on Sunday the arrest of a businessman who had been sought by Washington for several years. The suspect is accused of paying bribes to senior Venezuelan officials in exchange for lucrative government contracts within the country.
A federal court in Miami indicted Alvaro Pulido in 2019 and again in 2021. These charges stem from an investigation involving his long-time business partner, Alex Saab, a former ally of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department had offered rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to Pulido’s capture.
Nicole Navas Oxman, spokesperson for the Homeland Security Task Force, confirmed that Pulido is now in US custody. She stated the apprehension followed an investigation led by the DEA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Homeland Security Investigations agency.
Oxman did not clarify how Pulido was brought into American detention. However, she noted that he is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Miami on Tuesday.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on social media on Sunday, stating that the alleged actions demonstrate a "blatant disregard for the Venezuelan people." He argued that the suspect corrupted government programs intended to provide food, medicine, and essential housing to achieve personal gain, while exploiting the US financial system to facilitate these acts.
Blanche added that neither the passage of time nor distance would prevent the Justice Department from working with federal law enforcement agencies and international partners to pursue such defendants and bring them to justice in US courts.
Pulido, born in Colombia, was previously detained in Venezuela in 2023. This occurred during a broad anti-corruption campaign targeting the state oil company PDVSA.
