Alvaro Pulido Vargas, known as German Enrique Rubio Salas, is under arrest in Florida. He is accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S., allegedly profiting from President Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan regime. Pulido faces charges in two federal cases and will appear in court on Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department and Drug Enforcement Administration had placed a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to Pulido’s capture. 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.” He is now no longer a fugitive.
Prosecutors allege that Pulido’s schemes involved officials in the former Venezuelan government under Nicolás Maduro, who is currently held in New York, facing charges including conspiracy to torture, narcoterrorism, and cocaine-smuggling. Details on how Pulido entered the U.S., how he was apprehended, or if he is cooperating remain unclear.
Pulido, previously convicted in Italy for drug-trafficking under his alias “German Enrique Rubio Salas,” was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in 2019 and 2021. He is set for a court appearance in Florida.
Who Is Alvaro Pulido Vargas?
Prosecutors portray Pulido as a Colombian businessman linked with Alex Saab. Saab, a former ally of Maduro, pleaded guilty to a money-laundering charge in September and agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors, forfeiting $195 million. Pulido and others reportedly exploited Venezuela’s CLAP program to obtain contracts worth approximately $1.6 billion as per the 2021 indictment.
The group allegedly inflated contract costs, bribed Venezuelan officials, and transferred proceeds through accounts in multiple countries, including the U.S. Pulido faces one money-laundering conspiracy count and four money-laundering counts with each carrying a potential 20-year sentence.
A separate 2019 indictment tied to Venezuela’s currency-exchange system and a housing contract involves a money-laundering conspiracy charge alongside seven counts. Pulido and Saab allegedly used falsified import documents and bribes to divert about $350 million from Venezuela through U.S. accounts. Prosecutors say these actions constituted a betrayal of the Venezuelan people.
In 2023, Venezuelan authorities detained Pulido amid a corruption probe into the state oil company PDVSA.
The Latest on Nicolás Maduro’s Case
Nicolás Maduro, 62, is embroiled in a separate federal case in New York facing charges alongside his wife Cilia Flores, 69, including narcoterrorism, weapons offenses, and conspiracy to import cocaine. Prosecutors added a charge alleging conspiracy to commit torture on October 8.
Both Maduro and Flores have denied previous charges, with Maduro’s lawyer also denying the new accusations, which remain unproven. “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 of United States citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.
The defense has requested case dismissal, arguing immunity for Maduro and Flores as Venezuela’s leader and first lady. Pretrial motions, including the immunity claim, will be heard on November 17, with the trial scheduled for June 1, 2027, if it advances. Maduro and Flores have been in U.S. custody since being apprehended in Caracas in January.