Editor's note: Bradley Blankenship is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst and freelance reporter. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who was employed as a diplomat by the Venezuelan government, made his first appearance in U.S. federal court on October 18 after being extradited from Cape Verde over the weekend. 

Saab, who holds a diplomatic passport, was imprisoned by Cape Verdean authorities on June 12, 2020, in compliance with an Interpol red notice made by the United States for money laundering charges. The notice itself was reportedly issued after his arrest, Saab alleges that he was tortured while in custody and the U.S. even deployed a Navy cruiser at one point to ensure Saab's capture. 

All of these gangster-like acts are being committed by the United States because they believe that Saab is privy to an alleged criminal enterprise run by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is also facing charges in the United States, and that he would be a key witness against Maduro down the road. 

However, the Venezuelan government has been very straightforward with exactly what Saab was doing: finding ways to help Venezuela dodge the criminal U.S. sanctions that are strangling its economy and starving its people. This is exactly why Saab's arrest is horrifying and should be a warning shot to the world.

For starters, Alex Saab holds a Venezuelan diplomatic passport which gives him diplomatic immunity. That he was whisked away by police and imprisoned for over a year while en route to Iran to negotiate trade between the two countries, both strangled by U.S. sanctions, is shocking and unprecedented. 

There are obviously some parallels since the U.S. does operate a global kidnapping ring but, while still horrifying in their own right, the exact circumstances in other examples are a bit different.

For example, the U.S. still operates the Guantanamo Bay detention camp that it uses to kidnap and torture foreign citizens, usually without due process or even formal charges. It is also known to coerce its allies to arrest foreign nationals for politically-motivated charges, such as the arrests of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by the UK or Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou by Canada. 

However, it had not gotten to the level of kidnapping foreign government diplomats or officials. It does bear some resemblance to when the U.S. took part in grounding and searching former Bolivian President Evo Morales' airplane in an all-out manhunt for whistleblower Edward Snowden, though Morales was not imprisoned. 

Saab's extradition to the United States shows that Washington is upping the ante and willing to order the arrest, torture and extradition of not just foreign nationals, but foreign diplomats. This is a highly provocative step that is in direct violation of the Vienna Convention.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Saab's alleged crime basically amounts to the fact that he was helping the Venezuelan government avoid U.S. sanctions that are themselves fundamentally illegal under international law. He was helping Venezuela acquire desperately needed food and medical supplies, which is dire given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Authorities in the Justice Department want to use Saab to get information pertaining to how Venezuela and Iran were able to duck these sanctions, probably so the U.S. government can make an example of any collaborators and tighten the noose around both governments. They also want to flip Saab against President Maduro in order to justify the criminal, ongoing political power change operation against Venezuela. 

Venezuela has responded by denouncing Saab's arrest and extradition, and over the weekend announced that it would halt the ongoing negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition taking place in Mexico City. Washington's actions have only entrenched the bitterness that exists between hardline U.S. allies and others at the cost of political stability. 

However, the implications of this event for the rest of the world are clear. There is nothing illegal under international law about engaging normal trade relations, which the Venezuelan government has been attempting to do while suffocating under U.S. pressure. It shows that the U.S. undeniably thinks that its domestic law is superior to international law, and that really says something for a country that already routinely violates international law. 

Alex Saab's kidnapping by the United States is a travesty that, if not rectified immediately, could easily be repeated. Everyone should take this event as a stark warning.

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