Raúl Isaías Baduel

Raúl Isaías Baduel (6 July 1955 – 12 October 2021) was a Venezuelan politician, general, and defense minister under President Hugo Chávez. He was a member of Chavez' MBR-200, joining in December 1982.

Career Military Baduel was instrumental in restoring Chávez to power after the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, and was described by the BBC as "one of a small group of officers 'co-governing' Venezuela with Mr Chavez". He was commander-in-chief of the Venezuelan Army from 2004 until July 2007.

Politics In 2007, Baduel left his position as Defense Minister. Chávez later said that he had removed Baduel from office because he had been unable to explain a string of irregularities. After retiring as Defense Minister, he emerged in 2007 as an opposition leader, when he publicly broke with Chavez and announced his opposition to the constitutional changes proposed in the 2007 constitutional referendum (defeated via referendum) that would have strengthened the powers of the presidency and removed the restriction on public officials being re-elected. He became the highest-ranking military person opposed to Chavez's constitutional changes that would "concentrate power in the executive". In July 2007, he said, "A socialist regime is not incompatible with a democratic system of checks and balances and division of powers. We must separate ourselves from Marxist orthodoxy." According to The New York Times, "Chávez has moved against a wide range of domestic critics, and his efforts in recent weeks to strengthen his grip on the armed forces have led to high-profile arrests and a wave of reassignments". Baduel said that his arrest was politically motivated with Chávez allies admitting he was in private. According to The Guardian, he said "his crime was to realise – and declare – that the president was a tyrant". The 2009 Human Rights Watch report mentioned Baduel as an example of political persecution. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter expressed concern about the case, The military court declared that US$3.9 million was misappropriated, according to interviews with members of various military units; Baduel's daughter said no proof existed and the main evidence was provided by soldiers who claimed to see another officer carrying some black bags.

From Ramo Verde Prison, Baduel sent a Twitter message to family members, saying, "God is with us and divine justice is always active". He was released six years later in 2015.

On 12 October 2021, the Attorney General appointed by the 2017 Constituent National Assembly, Tarek William Saab, reported Baduel's death allegedly due to cardiorespiratory arrest caused by COVID-19. His family has disputed this version as the cause of death, saying that they visited him on 9 October and that he was well, and decided not to cremate his body so as not to hinder the investigations.