New court records unveiled on Wednesday, Feb. 15 revealed that Alex Saab, pointed out as a front man for Nicolás Maduro, became a collaborator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2018 and gave agents information about bribes he paid to officials of the Venezuelan regime. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Saab was its informant for 12 months, during which he delivered at least $10 million he allegedly obtained in illegal activities he carried out in Venezuela. 

However, he ceased to be an informant after missing a May 30, 2019 deadline to turn himself in. This is what is indicated in secret documents that were declassified by the prosecutor's office.

As seen in the image above, the sealed document was issued by a court in the Southern District of Florida, where it warns that the U.S. Justice System fears that Saab's family and himself would be a security risk if the extent of these interactions were known.

The United States has described Saab as the main conduit for corruption in Venezuela, someone who reaped huge windfall profits from dubious contracts to import food while millions of people in the South American nation went hungry.

The cooperation agreement between the DEA and Saab was signed on June 27, 2018, and shortly after he "became an active law enforcement source, communicating with DEA special agents by phone, text and voice message."

Saab, 50, was extradited to the U.S. last October from Cape Verde, where he was arrested following an international arrest warrant requested by the U.S. Justice System.

The businessman faces a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a Miami court, to which he pleaded "not guilty" on Nov. 15 before Judge Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes.

Saab faces a sentence of about 20 years if found guilty of the only charge he faces in the Miami court, a sentence that can be reduced if he makes a deal with the prosecution, which usually includes informing on others.