Fugitive Venezuelan-linked businessman arrested and transferred to U.S. custody

Alvaro Pulido, a Colombian-born businessman sought by the United States for allegedly paying bribes to top Venezuelan officials in exchange for state contracts, has been placed in U.S. custody. The capture resulted from a coordinated investigation by the DEA, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, according to Homeland Security Task Force spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman. Pulido will make his first court appearance in Miami on Tuesday.

He was previously arrested in Venezuela in 2023 during a wide-ranging anti-corruption sweep at PDVSA led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who succeeded Maduro after a U.S. military action. Venezuelan authorities have remained silent about the new arrest. Prosecutors allege that Pulido and his longtime partner Alex Saab created offshore entities to funnel bribes to Maduro allies for contracts supplying food, medicine and low-cost housing. Saab, also Colombian, was deported to the United States in May and recently pleaded guilty, agreeing to cooperate and forfeit $195 million.