Diplomat Alex Saab reunited with his family after being unjustly kidnapped
Diplomat Alex Saab reunited with his family. He was extradited to the United States (U.S.) in October 2021 from Cape Verde, after his detention and a process against him, described by his defense as illegal. teleSUR
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Transcript
00:00 We are now going to continue following this latest update of these and many other news
00:06 in upcoming newscasts.
00:09 So please stay tuned.
00:10 [ Foreign Language ]
00:33 We are watching the images at the airport.
00:39 These are the images on screen of the arrival of Alex Saab.
00:44 Let's recall that Alex Saab has been illegally detained for around three and a half years,
00:52 first in Cape Town and then in the United States.
00:55 And what we are watching are the images of his final long-awaited return home.
01:03 He is seen in the airport with his daughters.
01:07 He is also accompanied by his wife Camila, which was a very important figure in all of
01:16 the continuous claim of the Free Alex Saab campaign, which was intended to bring him
01:24 home.
01:25 He is finally in Venezuelan soil.
01:28 He is now being greeted by different officials along with family members.
01:35 The press is at the same time trying to cover the event and also provide him with some privacy
01:42 so that he can be reunited with his family at last.
01:49 We were hearing directly from the airport from Patricia Villegas, the president of our
01:57 multimedia, she was reporting from the site and narrating the importance of this moment,
02:09 both for the Venezuelan claim, for Alex Saab's personal history.
02:19 And now what we're watching on screen is the official communique that was released
02:33 by the Venezuelan government.
02:42 The official communique was released just a few minutes ago before the return of Alex
02:52 Saab to Venezuelan soil.
02:57 The communique stated that the government is joyful to have released Alex Saab and is
03:08 awaiting him.
03:10 He is now in Venezuelan soil.
03:12 We have just seen the live images.
03:17 And the communique also addressed the context in which this happened.
03:24 Let's recall that he has been over three and a half years illegally imprisoned.
03:30 The communique talks about negative conditions in which Alex Saab was held during this year's
03:41 first period in Cape Town and then later on since the year 2021 in the United States.
03:55 The statement finally talks about this final release as a conqueror of the victorious freedom
04:07 policy of the Venezuelan government.
04:13 And of course, the constant claim that the free Alex Saab campaign held during all these
04:20 years and was held through different demonstrations, both in Venezuela and in every corner of the
04:34 world.
04:43 Let's recall that Saab was arbitrarily captured in Cape Town on June 12th, 2020, when the
04:51 plane he was traveling in landed in that African nation in order to refuel before continuing
04:58 its journey to Iran on a humanitarian mission.
05:04 Saab's detention was in violation of international law as he serves as a Venezuelan diplomat,
05:14 which made it illegal or against international law for him to be detained.
05:28 Saab is also part of the government delegation at the dialogue table in Mexico with the country's
05:33 opposition.
05:35 And after spending more than 491 days imprisoned without an arrest warrant or due process,
05:43 and after being the victim of torture and degrading treatment, Saab was transferred
05:49 to the United States on October 16th, 2021.
05:54 Let's recall we are going over the context in which Alex Saab, after three and a half
06:01 years, finally arrived home.
06:06 He is back home in Venezuelan soil after having left in the year 2020 in the context of an
06:17 ongoing pandemic.
06:19 Let's recall that June 2020 was one of the toughest periods of the pandemic where all
06:28 exchange between countries was officially or practically closed.
06:36 And in this context, the illegal blockade against Venezuela was in force, making it
06:45 even more difficult to face this context.
06:53 And it was in that moment that Alex Saab risked his life and his freedom in a humanitarian
07:03 mission which landed him illegally detained.
07:20 We are looking at the images from his landing in Venezuela.
07:28 While we go over this context, Alex Saab is on his way to meet the country's authorities.
07:43 We are waiting for that official meeting, which really brings this whole journey of
07:51 international claims to a happy ending.
07:54 Let's recall that since he was illegally detained in the year 2020, numerous campaigns were
08:06 held under the slogan "Free Alex Saab."
08:14 His wife Camila was one of the main leaders of the campaign, accompanied by Venezuelan
08:24 officials and the Venezuelan people, which did not rest in their claims that Alex Saab
08:38 detention first in Cape Town and then in the United States was against international law
08:53 and demanded constantly his release.
08:56 Well, his release was finally obtained today, and that is what we are covering in this moment.
09:07 And those are the images that we are seeing on screen as Alex Saab takes his first steps
09:17 in Venezuelan soil after arriving, after waiting for more than three and a half years in prison.
09:38 We were saying, let's recall, that Saab was also part of the government delegation at
09:44 the dialogue table in Mexico with the country's opposition.
09:52 He was over 491 days imprisoned without an arrest warrant or due process, reportedly
10:04 being the victim of torture and degrading treatment, and Saab was then transferred in
10:15 spite of Venezuela's constant claim that he should be sent to his country.
10:26 He was transferred to the United States on October 16th in the year 2021, over a year
10:35 after being illegally detained.
10:41 And there he was held for over a thousand days under alleged charges of money laundering.
10:53 Alex Saab's efforts at a time of great need, as was the pandemic, especially in its first
11:01 months, were key to being able to bring food and medicines from various countries to Venezuela
11:12 within the framework of the illegal economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed
11:18 by the United States against the South American country.
11:25 So what we're seeing on screen are the images of Alex Saab finally reunited with his family.
11:33 We see his wife Camila, very important figure in the campaign that claimed for his release
11:47 during all these years.
11:51 She hosted many demonstrations demanding the release of Alex Saab, bringing awareness about
12:03 how his detention went against international law.
12:10 She talked to the international media at many moments in time, trying to increase awareness
12:20 about the situation and also not to let people and the government and international community
12:32 forget about the situation in which Alex Saab was being held.
12:43 So finally we see her now hand in hand with her husband and their daughters at the airport.
13:00 We are now waiting for what will probably be an official statement, maybe an official
13:11 visit to the country's authorities in such a historic day for the Venezuelan government
13:20 and the Venezuelan people.
13:33 Minutes before, the plane that brought Alex Saab back home to Venezuela landed.
13:47 A plane that brought back the whole delegation that was carrying out the negotiations which
13:55 brought about the final release, the long-awaited release of Alex Saab.
14:05 This delegation was led by Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela,
14:14 who was also part of the delegation that arrived with Alex Saab in Caracas.
14:29 And just minutes before the plane with the official delegation finally landed, the government
14:37 of Venezuela issued an official statement titled "A Statement for the Victory of Truth
14:49 and Dignity of Venezuela."
14:54 The official communique in this sense stated that the government of the Bolivarian Republic
15:01 of Venezuela celebrated joyfully the liberation and return to his homeland of diplomat Alex
15:09 Saab, who had been until today unfairly kidnapped at a U.S. prison.
15:20 The people received him with pride after having suffered for three and a half years of illegal
15:28 detention under cruel treatment, under inhumane and degrading treatment, which violated his
15:42 human rights along with the Vienna Convention that provided him with diplomatic immunity.
15:54 Alex Saab is a victim of the retaliation on behalf of the United States government for
16:05 his exceptional efforts, his exceptional international efforts in the protection of social rights
16:15 of all Venezuelans.