India, May 17 -- Venezuela's government on Sunday announced it has deported Alex Saab, a close confidant of former President Nicolas Maduro, to face criminal proceedings in the United States.

The sudden move comes less than three years after Saab was pardoned by the former US President Joe Biden as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange.

The decision marks an extraordinary reversal of decision for the 54-year-old Colombian-born businessman.

Long labelled by US officials as Maduro's financial "bag man," Saab has been at the centre of a years-long diplomatic tug-of-war between Caracas and Washington. Venezuelan authorities had previously fought to secure his freedom following his initial international arrest in 2020.

As he is handed o...