An army general who aligned with Venezuela’s late Hugo Chavez but later broke ranks with the socialist strongman and spent years as a prominent political prisoner has died of Covid-19 while in custody, officials said Tuesday. “We regret the death of Raul Isaias Baduel of cardiorespiratory arrest as a consequence of Covid-19,” prosecutor general Tarek Saab posted on Twitter. Baduel, 66, had received an initial Covid-19 vaccination and “was receiving appropriate medical care,” Saab added. Baduel was Chavez’s defense minister, and helped reinstate Chavez after the April 2002 coup that briefly removed the president from power. The minister served almost eight years on corruption charges. After his release in 2015, he was jailed again on charges of conspiracy against current President Nicolas Maduro.