Tareck El Aissami: The former Venezuelan power broker now turning against his own in court

"The trial is being held on the top floor of the Palace of Justice in Caracas, under the watch of armed men. It is closed to the public and sessions run until the early hours of the morning. The case file is under lock and key. It's a major case, and there's so much secrecy surrounding it, says former prosecutor Zair Mundaray, now in exile, who is following the proceedings through sources within the courts. What those sources have revealed is disturbing."

"Before the court, El Aissami testified that he was extorted by prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office, who demanded money in exchange for freeing him from the case. That he was subjected to enforced disappearance, prolonged isolation, denial of medical care, and the use of drugs during interrogations. That a prosecutor and a doctor stripped him and drugged him. That he spent eight months under a spotlight, sleeping on an extremely cold floor."

"El Aissami said he did not know torture existed in Venezuela until he experienced it himself even though he oversaw the police forces when he served as interior minister between 2008 and 2012. And he has named names. El Aissami testified that, under orders from Tarek William Saab, who headed the Attorney General's Office the same office now prosecuting him until February, prosecutors and a psychiatrist drugged and stripped him during an interrogation."

A corruption trial in Venezuela began with Tareck El Aissami appearing in a wheelchair, visibly thinner, in a closed proceeding guarded by armed men. The case involves 64 defendants, billions of dollars missing, and allegations of a criminal system built within the state to evade U.S. sanctions. The trial is held in Caracas under strict secrecy, with the case file kept under lock and key and sessions running late into the night. El Aissami testified that prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office extorted him and subjected him to enforced disappearance, prolonged isolation, denial of medical care, and drug use during interrogations. He also alleged he was stripped and drugged by a prosecutor and a doctor, and he named Tarek William Saab as ordering the actions.

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