Our prime minister might be in the FBI crosshairs again as Venezuelan money launderer Alex Saab weighs whom to rat out first in his bid to cut a deal with American prosecutors.
Browne is an easy throwaway for Saab. As a head of government, he is a prize even if a tiny one. He has no power beyond his two tiny islands to harm Saab. He has no intelligence service, no death squads like his Maduro friends did (and still do) to harm Saab.
Browne has nothing but his big mouth. And that makes him a nice target.
Saab can offer detailed mapping of his Caribbean facilitators, banks, and shell companies without necessarily providing the granular operational detail that most endangers those closest to his family in Venezuela.
To Washington, despite his attempts to get chummy with Trump on Facebook, Browne continues to be a fly-like irritant in need of a good swat.
We know from years ago that Saab was an informant for the American DEA, but that didn’t stop the U.S. from snatching him for prosecution.
Browne, with his banking background, is said to be a subject of interest.
Sanctions-evasion and other illicit dealings of the Cartel de los Soles in Venezuela almost always involve non-Venezuelan financial professionals, Caribbean offshore vehicles, and corrupt officials involved in finance, housing, public works, and other big-ticket items.
That means that non-Venezuelan actors make natural “currency” for Saab to cut deals with his prosecutors.
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