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KEN LIVINGSTONE writes of the case of the illegally detained Venezuelan diplomat now facing a possible 20-year jail sentence in the US
Illegally detained Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab

THE imprisonment of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab in Florida since October 2021 exemplifies the US’s vicious assault on Venezuela and its disregard for international law.

According to Venezuelan government sources, Saab was arrested at a refuelling stop in Cape Verde in June 2020 by order of the US while he was carrying out official duties as a Venezuelan special envoy. This serious violation of international law was part of the drive by president Trump to make its illegal coercive sanctions against Venezuela bite even harder.

At the time of his arrest, a few months into the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Venezuelan government argues Saab was flying to Iran on a mission to obtain food, medical supplies and other essential items for the people of Venezuela, to alleviate the increasingly harsh impacts of the US blockade against his country.

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