[Roscoe]

When students protesting Hugo Chavez’s plan to make himself into a dictator for life protested in Caracas chanting "Freedom", the riot police that smashed through their ranks were under the supervision of Deputy Justice Minister Tarik or Tareck El-Aissami.

In his early thirties Tarik El-Assimi is one of the younger men to have held such a post. His father Carlos el-Aissami headed the Venezuelan branch of the Baath Party, while his great-uncle Shibli el-Aissami was a close Saddam ally and served as assistant to the Secretary General of the Baath Party.

Before the invasion of Iraq, Carlos El-Aissami held a press conference in which he described himself as a Taliban and called Osama Bin Laden, "the great Mujahedeen, Sheik Osama bin Laden". The son, Tareck el-Aissimi who headed up Venezuela’s visa department and now serves as deputy justice minister, began as student union leader supervising drug dealing and a car theft ring, while intimidating his rivals. He maintained links to terrorist organizations. With the rise of Chavez, Tariq El-Aissimi’s rise began as well.