India, May 18 -- Venezuela's Government said on Saturday it deported a close ally of Nicolas Maduro facing several criminal investigations in the US, less than three years after the businessman was pardoned by President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap.

The decision marks a stark reversal for Alex Saab, who Maduro fought tooth and nail to bring home after his previous international arrest in 2020. Now, the Colombian-born insider, long described by US officials as Maduro's "bag man," may be asked to testify against his former protector, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a shock raid by the US military in January.

The Venezuelan immigration authority, in a short statement Saturday, did not expl...