Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Friday appointed to his Cabinet a close ally who was pardoned by US President Joe Biden last year as part of a prisoner swap and following assurances that Venezuela would hold a fair presidential election in 2024.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday in a social media post that businessman Alex Saab has been appointed industry minister, replacing Pedro Tellechea. Saab, a close ally of Maduro, was freed in a prisoner exchange with the United States late last year,

Saab replaces Pedro Tellechea, whom Maduro moved from the oil ministry to the industry ministry in August as part of a large cabinet shakeup following a disputed presidential election. The cabinet shakeup included leadership of the oil and finance ministries and state energy company PDVSA.

- Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Alex Saab embrace during an event marking the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23,