Businessman Alvaro Pulido Enters U.S. Custody Following Years-Long Bribery Investigation
Alvaro Pulido, wanted for bribing Venezuelan officials, is now in U.S. custody. The arrest follows a multi-agency probe into state contract corruption.
POLICY WIRE — Miami, USA — Alvaro Pulido, a businessman who spent years as a fugitive, is now in U.S. custody following allegations that he funneled bribes to high-ranking Venezuelan officials to secure lucrative state contracts.
Pulido faced federal indictments in Miami in both 2019 and 2021. These charges stemmed from a broader investigation into his business associate, Alex Saab, who was a prominent ally of the former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The U.S. government had previously placed a bounty of up to $10 million on Pulido, with the State Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking information that would lead to his capture.
Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Task Force, confirmed on Sunday that Pulido was apprehended through a joint effort involving the DEA, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. While the specific circumstances of his transfer to U.S. authorities remain undisclosed, he is scheduled for an initial court appearance in Miami this Tuesday.
The arrest arrives during a period of political transition in Venezuela, where acting President Delcy Rodríguez is navigating pressure from the Trump administration to extradite various insiders wanted for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to systemic corruption. Venezuelan officials have not yet issued a statement regarding the development.
Pulido, who was born in Colombia, was previously detained in Venezuela in 2023 during an anti-corruption sweep of the state-run oil firm PDVSA. That operation was spearheaded by Rodríguez during her tenure as vice president, prior to her assuming the role of acting president following the ouster of Maduro by the U.S. military in January.
Federal prosecutors contend that Pulido and Saab utilized a complex web of offshore shell companies to facilitate bribes. These payments were allegedly exchanged for government contracts to supply food, medicine, and affordable housing during a period of severe economic distress in Venezuela.
Saab, also a Colombian native, was deported to the United States by Rodríguez in May. He entered a guilty plea last month in a related bribery case, committing to cooperate with authorities against Maduro and others while forfeiting $195 million in illicit gains.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
