A Colombian drug trafficker with ties to Venezuela’s regime is under arrest in Florida for alleged money laundering. Alvaro Pulido Vargas, also known as German Enrique Rubio Salas, faces charges in two federal cases and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency had offered up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated, “Pulido is charged in two separate, significant money laundering schemes, both using the U.S. financial system to hide the profits from his bribery and greed off the backs of the Venezuelan people.”
The charges involve officials from the government of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces his own legal battles in New York, including accusations of conspiracy to torture, narcoterrorism, and cocaine-smuggling.
“He is no longer a fugitive from justice,” Duva added.
Details surrounding Pulido’s arrival to the United States, his capture, and potential cooperation with investigators remain unclear. The announcement does not note any defense or lawyer for Pulido, and Newsweek has requested comment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Background on Alvaro Pulido Vargas
Pulido has a past conviction from 1997 for drug trafficking in Italy under the alias “German Enrique Rubio Salas.” The U.S. Justice Department indicted him in 2019 and 2021, and he is set to make his initial federal court appearance in Florida.
He is described by prosecutors as a Colombian businessman associated with Alex Saab, a former Maduro ally. Saab pleaded guilty in September to a related money-laundering charge and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and forfeit $195 million.
Pulido’s activities reportedly involved Venezuela’s CLAP food and medicine distribution program, securing contracts worth $1.6 billion according to a 2021 indictment. The group inflated costs, paid bribes, and funnelled proceeds through accounts in various countries, including the U.S.
Prosecutors reveal Pulido faces one money-laundering conspiracy charge and four individual money-laundering counts, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The 2019 indictment adds more charges, including seven money-laundering counts centered on Venezuela’s currency-exchange system and a low-income housing contract.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones described Pulido’s conduct as “a profound betrayal of the Venezuelan people.”
Venezuelan authorities arrested Pulido in 2023 during a corruption probe of the state oil company PDVSA.
Update on Nicolás Maduro’s Legal Proceedings
Maduro, aged 62, faces separate federal charges in New York. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, face allegations related to narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses.
On October 8, prosecutors added a charge alleging the couple conspired to commit torture, with accusations that U.S. citizens were among those victimized.
They have denied earlier charges, and Maduro’s lawyer refutes the recent claims, which remain unproven. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald stated, “As alleged in today’s Superseding Indictment, for more than two decades, Nicolás Maduro Moros and Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture, including the torture of United States citizens.”
The defense seeks case dismissal, arguing immunity for Maduro and Flores as foreign leaders. Their next court date is November 17, focusing on pretrial motions including the immunity claim. A trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Maduro and Flores have been in U.S. custody since their capture in Caracas and transfer to New York for initial charges.
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