Fugitive wanted for allegedly bribing Venezuelan officials taken in U.S. custody

A businessman wanted for years in the U.S. for allegedly paying bribes to top Venezuelan officials in exchange for lucrative state contracts in Venezuela has been taken into custody.Alvaro Pulido was indicted in Miami federal court in 2019 and again in 2021 as part of an investigation into his longtime business partner, Alex Saab, a one-time ally of ousted President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and State Department had been offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.Pulido was taken into U.S. custody after an investigation led by the DEA, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agencies, Nicole Navas Oxman, a Homeland Security Task Force spokesperson, said Sunday.Oxman didn't say how Pulido ended up in U.S.

custody but said he will make his initial court appearance Tuesday in Miami.Venezuelan authorities have so far been silent about the arrest, reflecting the challenge acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces in appeasing elements of the ruling coalition that want her to resist attempts by the Trump administration to round up scores of Venezuelan insiders wanted by the U.S., sometimes for years, for serious crimes ranging from corruption to drug trafficking.The Colombian-born Pulido was arrested in Venezuela in 2023 as part of a sprawling crackdown on corruption inside state-run oil company PDVSA that was led by Rodríguez while