Link to article: https://allafrica.com/stories/202109201156.html
On September 7, 2021, Alex Saab, a wanted Colombian businessman by the United States on charges for money laundering, was ruled by Cape Verde’s highest court to be extradited to the U.S. In June 2020, when Saab was diplomatically traveling to Iran to negotiate shipping fuel and humanitarian supplies for Venezuela, he was detained on accusation of violating U.S. sanctions. While the West African regional court had previously ruled that the arrest was illegal, Cape Verde’s constitutional court established a lower court’s ruling of extradition instead.
A pulling company, Eduíno Santo, conducted a public opinion survey in Cape Verde, where the responses have become notable because of how many Cape Verdeans feel that Saab’s legal rights were violated by the Cape Verde courts and government. The Eduíno Santos survey is a prominent testament, reflecting the situation of the political impact of the weakening state and judicial institutions in Cape Verde. Even though the pandemic has caused a detrimental impact on economic contraction and broaden socio-economic pressures, political support for the government has remained fairly stable and the administration’s policies are relatively well-considered. However, the survey data suggests that the government may have squandered its political support over the Saab extradition case.
Many believe that the result of Saab’s extradition may have been due to political motivation. The domestic fall-out over the credibility of Cape Verde judiciary and inquiry to the validity of the countries citizens’ own independence in their own government, leds to suspicion that harm has been done to Cape Verde’s international and diplomatic relations that would ultimately impact commerce, trade, and investment. The survey data has been verified that the public opinion on the Saab case aligned with voting patterns in previous elections. Domestically this will likely affect the upcoming presidential election in October, as the PAICV party is gaining favor over the MpD government. Internationally, while Cape Verde’s verdict was ultimately made with the intention of appeasing the U.S., Alex Saab was close to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro which leads to problems with Cape Verde’s relation with Venezuela. Tension between the United States and Venezuela has led Cape Verde to be put under unwelcome international attention.