Tareck El Aissami: The former Venezuelan power broker now turning against his own in court
Less than a month ago, a trial began in Venezuela that once seemed impossible. Tareck El Aissami — just three years ago, the most powerful man in the Venezuelan regime, a former vice president, former oil minister, and an inseparable figure in the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro — arrived at the first hearing in a wheelchair, visibly thinner, wearing the light‑blue prison uniform. He is the central figure in the largest corruption case opened in Venezuela in two decades: 64 defendants, billions of dollars missing, and a criminal system built from within the state to evade U.S. sanctions.

© Matias Delacroix (AP)