A fugitive linked to Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime in Venezuela was arrested in the United States on suspicion of involvement in a massive corruption scandal. The suspect, 62-year-old Alvaro Pulido Vargas, was captured in a Homeland Security task force operation and will face serious charges in federal court in South Florida.
1+Pulido, a Colombian citizen, faces two separate criminal cases. According to the charges, he helped transfer funds originating from government bribery schemes in Venezuela through U.S. banks to conceal illegal profits. One case involves government contracts worth about $1.6 billion for food and medicine supplies, and the other involves fraud of about $350 million from a government housing program.
The U.S. Justice Department responded sharply to the arrest. Attorney General Todd Blanche accused Pulido Vargas of exploiting programs designed to provide essential supplies and housing to Venezuelan citizens. “His alleged actions show blatant disregard for the Venezuelan people by corrupting government programs meant to provide critical food, medicine, and housing, all for personal enrichment,” he said.
1+According to the indictments, Pulido and his partners paid bribes to win contracts, then inflated prices to cover the payments and pocket enormous profits. The funds were transferred through a network of companies and bank accounts in Antigua, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. and other locations. Pulido faces multiple counts of money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.