Jailed former Venezuelan minister dies of COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela' former Defense Minister Raul Baduel reads the Venezuelan constitution before speaking to the media in Caracas November 5, 2007. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

CARACAS (Reuters) - Former Venezuelan Defense Minister and retired general Raul Baduel, considered a political prisoner by the opposition, has died after contracting coronavirus, the attorney general said on Tuesday.

Baduel was arrested in 2009 on corruption charges after falling out with the Socialist Party, eventually placed on house arrest and then re-jailed in 2017 for allegedly conspiring against Maduro.