A businessman wanted in the US for allegedly bribing top Venezuelan officials has been taken into custody. Alvaro Pulido, who has been sought for years for paying bribes in exchange for lucrative state contracts in Venezuela, was arrested following a joint investigation by the DEA, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Background

Pulido was indicted in Miami federal court in 2019 and again in 2021 as part of an investigation into his longtime business partner, Alex Saab, a former ally of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The US authorities had been offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.

Arrest Details

On Sunday, American officials confirmed that Pulido, aged 62, was taken into US custody. It remains unclear how he ended up in US hands. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday in Miami.

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“His alleged actions show a blatant disregard to the Venezuelan people by corrupting government programs intended to provide critical food, medicine, and housing for personal enrichment and exploiting the American financial system to do it,” said US Attorney General Todd Blanche in a social media post.