Homeland Security Task Force Arrests Alvaro Pulido Vargas to Face Charges in Multibillion-Dollar Venezuelan Money Laundering and Bribery Schemes
A Colombian national indicted twice for laundering billions linked to Venezuelan bribery schemes was arrested and will appear in federal court in Florida to face prosecution.
Alvaro Pulido Vargas, a 62-year-old Colombian national also known as German Enrique Rubio Salas, was taken into custody by the Homeland Security Task Force and is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on October 13 in the Southern District of Florida. The arrests follows two separate federal indictments from 2019 and 2021 charging him with laundering proceeds from bribery and fraud schemes involving Venezuelan government officials under Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Prosecutors allege Pulido Vargas exploited the U.S. financial system to conceal illicit gains, including through accounts in Florida and other international locations.
The first indictment, returned in October 2021, accuses Pulido Vargas and four co-defendants of laundering approximately $1.6 billion in bribes tied to contracts with Venezuela’s CLAP program, which was designed to supply food and medicine to the public. According to court filings, the scheme involved inflating contract costs to fund bribes to Venezuelan officials and transferring roughly $180 million through or to U.S. bank accounts, including in the Southern District of Florida.
A second indictment from July 2019 charges Pulido Vargas and Alex Nain Saab Moran, a Maduro ally, with laundering approximately $350 million through a corrupt currency exchange scheme. Prosecutors allege the pair secured a low-income housing contract, submitted fraudulent import documents for goods never delivered, and bribed officials to approve payments, routing funds through U.S. accounts in Florida and overseas.
The arrest underscores the ongoing efforts of the Homeland Security Task Force, a multi-agency initiative established under Executive Order 14159, to dismantle transnational financial networks linked to corruption and organized crime. The case is being investigated by DEA Miami, FBI Miami, and HSI Miami, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero and officials from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.