US prosecutors open new criminal probe into former Venezuelan president: Report

US prosecutors in Miami were ordered to open a new criminal investigation targeting former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid concerns that the pending prosecution against him is weak, CBS News reported Tuesday, citing sources.

The new probe came after Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro and Venezuela’s former minister of industry and national production, was deported to the US and indicted over his alleged involvement in a money-laundering scheme tied to a Venezuelan public welfare food program.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by US forces in Venezuela in early January and flown to New York to face charges related to narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.

The former Venezuelan leader was originally named in a 2020 superseding indictment during the tenure of former Attorney General Bill Barr.

Both defendants have denied the allegations.

According to the report, senior officials at the Justice Department later directed prosecutors to launch a separate criminal investigation in Miami targeting Venezuela’s former leader after he was already being held on the New York charges.

The investigation reportedly began around March. Michael Berger, a Miami prosecutor known for handling international criminal matters, was appointed to lead the case alongside agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.

The report also said the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division is participating in the probe.