CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Tuesday that the government was proposing that Alex Saab, a government envoy currently jailed in Cabo Verde, be incorporated as a member of a dialogue process with the opposition.
Saab, a Colombian businessman close to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was arrested in the African archipelago nation on U.S. charges of money laundering for the government. A Cape Verde court ruling last week paved the way for his extradition.
Rodriguez is the lead delegate for Maduro’s government to Norway-mediated talks in Mexico with representatives of opposition leader Juan Guaido, aimed at resolving the South American country’s longstanding political crisis.
The proposal to incorporate Saab into the government’s delegation was likely to draw disapproval from the opposition.
(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Writing by Luc Cohen)
