Tareck El Aissami

Profile

Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (b. 1974) was one of the most powerful officials of chavismo: Executive Vice-President (2017-2018), Minister of Industries and National Production, and Minister of Petroleum from April 2020 to March 2023. In April 2024 he was arrested by the Venezuelan attorney general's office in the PDVSA-Crypto case.[venezuelanalysis-2024-04-09-el-aissami-arrest][elpais-2026-05-18-el-aissami-trial]

U.S. sanctions and indictments

On 13 February 2017 Treasury's OFAC designated him as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the Kingpin Act, alleging that he had facilitated, coordinated and protected shipments of more than one metric ton of cocaine bound for Mexico and the United States. Alongside El Aissami, OFAC designated businessman Samark Lopez Bello as his frontman.[ofac-2017-02-13-el-aissami]

In March 2019 federal prosecutors in New York filed an initial indictment; in March 2020, within the broader DOJ package, he was charged with OFAC sanctions evasion, narcotics-trafficking conspiracy and financial operations linked to private-aviation networks.[doj-2020-03-26-indictment]

Arrest in Venezuela and PDVSA-Crypto case

On 9 April 2024 Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced his arrest, along with former Finance Minister Simon Zerpa and businessman Samark Lopez Bello. The prosecution describes a scheme in which PDVSA crude shipments were assigned to operators and to the National Superintendency of Crypto-Assets (SUNACRIP) without administrative controls, bypassing the traditional banking system.[venezuelanalysis-2024-04-09-el-aissami-arrest]

The Venezuelan charges include treason, misappropriation of public funds, influence peddling, money laundering and criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors estimate state losses of USD 5.55 billion, while Transparencia Venezuela puts the figure at USD 16.9 billion.[elpais-2026-05-18-el-aissami-trial]

The 2026 trial

The trial opened on 20 April 2026 before the 3rd Trial Court at the Palace of Justice in Caracas, which has jurisdiction over terrorism-related offences. There are 64 defendants and the file MP-588864 contains more than 1,706 separate items. El Aissami arrived in a wheelchair, wearing a light-blue prison uniform, and has alleged torture and due-process violations.[elpais-2026-05-18-el-aissami-trial]

Reference status

The U.S. case remains open, without verdict. The Venezuelan case is in trial. This profile summarises documented administrative and judicial actions; criminal counts are prosecutorial allegations until a final ruling.[elpais-2026-05-18-el-aissami-trial][doj-2020-03-26-indictment]