Activists in Boston kick against illegal detention of Alex Saab, warn Cape Verde against extradition
Activists in Boston on July 5 took to the streets to demand the release of embattled Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab following the continuous illegal detention of Saab by authorities in Cape Verde.
The protest took place during the visit of Cape Verde’s Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, to two US communities with large residents of Cape Verde origin – Boston and Brockton.
July 5th is the Independence Day of both Cabo Verde and Venezuela. Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva thought he would be welcomed in Boston and Brockton without a disturbance. But activists greeted him at Boston City Hall and Santana Restaurant in Brockton with chants and placards, demanding that he not hand over Alex Saab by illegal extradition to the United States.
Dozens of community members and activists from the ANSWER coalition, the Círculo Bolivariano, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Boston School Bus Drivers USW local 875, and the International Action Center attended the events and protested his arrival.
The protesters were seen carrying placards with slogans like “End the U.S. economic war on Venezuela Free Alex Saab,” “PM Correia Don’t Extradite Alex Saab,” and “Venezuela has a right to feed the people.
Saab was arrested and detained in Cape Verde based on the request of the Donald Trump led United States government during a stop over on his way to Iran over allegations of money laundering.
This is a move the Venezuelan government faulted with claims that the businessman is its special envoy on a humanitarian mission.
The Venezuelan government claimed that before his arrest, Saab had been on a mission to get food and medical supplies in Iran, stopping over in Cape Verde where he was arrested by security operatives.
The failure of Cape Verdean authorities to obey the ruling of the ECOWAS court by extraditing Saab to the US is not the first contempt for court order by the authorities since his detention last year.
Saab was denied access to any member of his defense team despite three court rulings granting him the right to do so.
