Maduro Extracts His Pound of Fat Leonard Flesh
by Tom Wright
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Meet Indira Urbaneja, a Venezuelan nationalist who is trying to get Leonard Francis sent back to the U.S. to face sentencing.
Meet Indira Urbaneja, a Venezuelan nationalist who could emerge as a potential broker to get Leonard Francis, the 300-pound, corrupt U.S. military contractor, sent back to the U.S. to face sentencing in exchange for the freedom of wheeler-dealer Alex Saab.
As you know by now, Leonard went on the run from the U.S. in September, but was re-arrested in Venezuela. Now he's become a pawn in a game of chess between the Maduro and Biden administrations.
Before he allows Fat Leonard to be extradited, Maduro wants the freedom of Alex Saab, his financial fixer, who is accused of international money-laundering (which he denies) and is currently in a Florida jail.
Indira says she hasn't looked at the Fat Leonard scandal personally, but it could become a point in the negotiations between Venezuela and the U.S.
She maintains she is only working on behalf of her NGO, Unificados, and is focused on an end to the "political crisis" between the two countries. She says that involves exchange and release of political prisoners; preparing for fair elections in 2024; and restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries.
So far, the U.S. has focused on 274 political prisoners in Venezuela, especially nine American citizens detained by Maduro's government. "It is very likely that in exchange or release of prisoners the names of Alex Saab and Fat Leonard could appear," she says.
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