Álvaro Pulido Vargas, a Colombian businessman accused of helping divert billions of dollars through Venezuelan government contracts, is finally in American custody. His arrest comes weeks after his longtime partner, Alex Saab, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors.
A wanted poster offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Álvaro Pulido Vargas now bears two words across his photograph: "IN CUSTODY."
The Colombian businessman, once a central figure in the network of government contractors surrounding former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is in South Florida awaiting his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday, October 13.
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed his arrest Sunday, October 11, ending a years-long international pursuit involving the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
Pulido, 62, faces two separate federal indictments alleging his involvement in money laundering and bribery schemes connected to more than $2 billion in Venezuelan government contracts. Prosecutors say the operations exploited programs designed to provide food, medicine and affordable housing to Venezuelans during a period of severe economic hardship.
His arrival in Miami also marks another development in the expanding U.S. prosecution of individuals linked to Maduro's former government.
From Venezuela's Food Boxes to Offshore Bank Accounts
Pulido's name became closely associated with Alex Saab, the Colombian businessman who developed lucrative commercial relationships with Maduro's government and later became one of its most prominent international intermediaries.
According to a 2021 federal indictment, Pulido and four co-defendants allegedly participated in a scheme involving approximately $1.6 billion in contracts connected to Venezuela's Local Committees for Supply and Production, known as CLAP.
The government program distributed subsidized food boxes to Venezuelan households. Prosecutors allege that Pulido and his associates inflated contract prices, paid bribes to government officials and moved proceeds through accounts in the United States, Antigua, the United Arab Emirates and other jurisdictions. Approximately $180 million allegedly passed through or into the United States.
A separate indictment filed in 2019 accuses Pulido and Saab of laundering approximately $350 million through a scheme involving contracts to construct low-income housing. Prosecutors say they used fraudulent import documents and manipulated Venezuela's government-controlled currency exchange system to obtain payments for goods and materials that were never imported.
The investigation also examined transactions involving Venezuelan gold. According to the DEA, Pulido and an associate developed a gold liquidation operation to generate funds for government suppliers when Venezuela faced shortages of U.S. dollars.
Why His Arrest Is Significant Now
Pulido's detention follows a dramatic transformation in Venezuela's political landscape.
Maduro was removed from power during a U.S. military operation in January 2026, and his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed the country's acting presidency.
Pulido himself had been arrested in Venezuela in 2023 during an investigation into corruption involving the state oil company PDVSA. Colombian media, including El Tiempo, reported that DEA personnel transferred him from a Caracas prison to Florida.
U.S. authorities have confirmed his custody but have not publicly explained the circumstances of his transfer or whether a formal extradition took place. Venezuelan authorities had not publicly addressed the operation as of Sunday.
Pulido is scheduled to appear before a federal court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon, October 13. At that initial appearance, the court is expected to address his legal representation, the charges against him and the next steps in the proceedings. Detention and scheduling matters could also be considered.
The 2021 indictment includes conspiracy to commit money laundering and four substantive money laundering counts, each carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. The separate 2019 indictment includes an additional conspiracy charge and seven money laundering counts. Those penalties are statutory maximums, not a prediction of any eventual sentence.
Prosecutors will have to establish the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt unless the case is resolved through a guilty plea. The question of whether Pulido will cooperate with investigators could also become important. His knowledge of the contracts, banking transactions and relationships involving Venezuelan officials may be valuable to prosecutors pursuing other cases, although no cooperation agreement involving him has been announced.
The $10 million reward does not automatically become payable because he is in custody. Any payment would depend on the rules of the State Department's reward program and whether qualifying information contributed to his arrest or conviction.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva described the arrest as the culmination of a long pursuit.
"Alvaro Pulido Vargas is no longer a fugitive from justice," Duva said in the Justice Department announcement.
— Attorney General Todd Blanche (@AGToddBlanche) October 11, 2026🚨 Law enforcement on the @HSTaskForce arrested Alvaro Pulido Vargas where he now faces two separate federal indictments in the U.S. from 2019 and 2021 involving an alleged multibillion-dollar Venezuelan money laundering and bribery schemes tied to the Maduro regime.
Pulido's first court appearance will begin a new chapter in a corruption investigation that has followed the financial operations of Maduro's government for more than a decade. With Saab already cooperating and Maduro facing separate U.S. criminal proceedings, investigators now have another former insider within reach of the American judicial system.
Whether Pulido chooses to contest the allegations or negotiate with prosecutors could help determine how much more becomes public about the movement of billions of dollars through Venezuela's government contracts.
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