VENEZUELA has suspended talks with the opposition in Mexico City, accusing the United States of “kidnapping” its diplomat Alex Saab from the west African archipelago of Cape Verde.

Vice-President for Communication, Culture and Tourism Alfred Nazareth slammed Saturday’s extradition, claiming that it was against the law and could be classed as kidnapping.

“The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces the kidnapping of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab by the government of the United States in complicity with Cape Verdean authorities,” he said.

Mr Saab had been held in the former Portuguese colony since June 2020 on charges of bribery, allegedly trumped up, that were brought against him by the US Department of Justice in 2019. 

He was removed and taken by plane to the US, where he will stand trial in Florida.

Mr Nazareth accused Cape Verde of breaching Mr Saab’s human rights, holding him for “almost 500 days” without an arrest warrant or due process.

Caracas insists that the charges against him are politically motivated and form part of Washington’s efforts to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The Colombian-born businessman had been a member of Venezuela’s negotiating team with the country’s opposition forces.

Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez confirmed that Caracas’s representatives would not be attending today’s round of talks in the wake of Mr Saab’s “kidnapping.”

Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez hit out at Colombia’s right-wing President Ivan Duque, who has welcomed the extradition.

“Alex Saab is an innocent Venezuelan diplomat, a victim of kidnapping, unlike those who promote drug production and trafficking to sustain the Colombian state,” she said.

And Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia also took aim at the Colombian president. 

“What happened is an aberrant action that violates international law and whose origin is an illegal detention and a rigged judicial process — incidentally, common practices of your narco-government,” he said.

Mr Saab is expected to appear in court tomorrow.