caracas last march chief justice maikel moreno shock venezuela supreme court nullify power national assembly transfer 32-judge tribunal even country use political upheaval decision trigger major protest force moreno roll back much move three days late power play illustrate moreno role enforcer embattle administration president nicolas maduro brand dictatorship grow number governments france unite state south american neighbor colombia peru 51-year-old bodyguard-turned-judge court overrule virtually every major law pass opposition-led assembly moreno past however remain unknown even venezuelans trace ascent reuters examine document interview associate colleagues friends chief justice five countries picture emerge jurist leverage personal connections handle politically sensitive case lawyers judge reject endear maduro fellow members late hugo chavez bolivarian revolution rise venezuela top judicial perch moreno leave behind past include allegations participate extortion influence-peddling racket arrest 1989 suspicions kill teenager accord government document people familiar history reuters find evidence moreno ever try convict criminal charge brief text-message exchange reuters nov. moreno say allegations jail time long rumor venezuela invent sensationalists offer give reuters interview respond request schedule one respond additional question text career episodes accuse wrongdoing neither supreme court maduro government respond separate request comment document include 2006 intelligence report supreme court security division high court rule moreno last decade point episodes moreno accuse wrong side law 1989 shoot ouster low court judge 2007 high court say improper release two murder suspect opponents maduro government say moreno instrumental prop administration increasingly authoritarian recent months top court sentence five opposition mayors prison approve ouster venezuela chief prosecutor flee country mid-august join grow exodus maduro critics may moreno court give green light maduro proceed election create constituent assembly legislature supersede national assembly cement many country tilt toward authoritarian rule least 125 people die four months protest ensue court seek march neuter assembly great affront people put criminal charge judicial system say luis velazquez former venezuelan judge investigate moreno behalf supreme court decade maduro appoint moreno run top bench investigation velazquez say find arrest record moreno 1989 shoot death teen investigate phone call another judge separate case record moreno allegedly pressure release suspect arm drug trafficker chief justice first senior venezuelan official accuse abuse power u.s. government early year accuse vice president tareck el aissami drug traffic sanction maduro deliberately repeatedly abuse right citizens repressive tactics sanction moreno seven supreme court justices allegedly usurp legislature restrict right thwart venezuelan people venezuela government dismiss accusations criticize sanction bar americans engage business officials freeze assets officials may u.s. jurisdictions el aissami vice president deny tie drug trade slam unite state twitter miserable provocations vile aggression chavez maduro economy cratered social stability rupture country one latin america prosperous still boast world large prove oil reserve october vote maduro socialist party candidates sweep majority gubernatorial elections president dismiss accusations fraud defend legitimacy government dictator maduro say moustache look like stalin little public record exist moreno youth bear new year eve 1965 eastern city el tigre accord public tax electoral document late 1980s court intelligence newspaper record show work bodyguard then-president carlos andres perez clear become bodyguard join president security detail era venezuela mark food shortages high inflation similar condition roil country set stage eventual entry chavez disgruntle leftist army officer power anger hardship mount riot erupt 1989. hundreds people die even april 26 moreno two perez bodyguards parque central working-class neighborhood caracas capital accord account two days late el nacional national newspaper reason clear brawl break ruben gil 19-year-old student enter fray baseball bat newspaper say bodyguards open fire shoot gil dead presidential bodyguards kill youth read front-page headline picture gil weep mother carmen romelia marquez de gomez police arrest moreno accord newspaper account people familiar incident intelligence report prepare decade ago security division venezuela supreme court mugshot arrest include report date week kill show moreno arrest homicide supreme court commission report copy review reuters 2006 32-member court already align leftist government appointments make chavez several judge begin question moreno rule low court judge report never make public sign luis enrique villoria garcia director general court security division time reuters unable reach villoria discuss report one page appear miss 19-page copy review reuters detail report regard homicide moreno removal bench 2007 independently verify people familiar content people include one senior government official three former supreme court judge three former senior intelligence officials important detail homicide moreno arrest remain unclear notably reuters unable find paper trail document whether moreno try sentence imprison supreme court report say jail sometime 1990 cite criminal case number homicide charge 522755 reuters could find file associate case security guard lebrun central judicial archive caracas would grant reuters access record supreme court respond request seek permission search archive gil mother die decade ago accord people close family two people close gil tell reuters witness family members time brawl say moreno fire shoot kill 19-year-old people request anonymity say afraid reprisals say gil gang member exist unspecified rivalry moreno spark brawl one person say saw gil body caracas morgue say young man shoot back gil death certificate review reuters cite gunshot cause death three people close family say legal proceed follow gil death none know become case want denounce years scar one people say moreno never publicly deny confirm discuss shoot gil tell friends colleagues kill self-defense accord person close moreno speak condition anonymity another person also ask name tell reuters moreno say fallout kill resolve point 1990 accord intelligence report moreno release jail say receive illegally grant procedural benefit give detail release text exchange reuters moreno dispute assertion jail time say detail report true either clarify directly address specifics report free moreno pursue law degree santa maria university caracas work bailiff study accord official biography moreno study chavez 1992 lead fail coup attempt perez increasingly unpopular government chavez jail free 1994 thank work cilia flores firebrand attorney fond leftist cause next decade flores become close aide chavez head national assembly also friend moreno clear know flores years also study law santa maria government respond reuters request speak flores reuters could reach outside government channel complete law degree 1995 moreno work two years attorney take job legal advisor corporacion alas de venezuela c.a hold company venezuelan airline aeropostal alas de venezuela time chavez increase support working-class venezuelans track win 1998 presidential election moreno already brag close tie flores ascendant chavistas make sure everyone know relationship say nelson ramiz own aeropostal give control airline move miami 2007 dispute regulators three years airline moreno work legal advisor metropolitan police sucre district caracas also begin advise national assembly become auxiliary judge district country northeast rest 1990s moreno alternate work attorney judge sometimes wear hat nearly time unusual attorneys venezuela also work judge moreno choice case sometimes create critics saw conflict interest one episode defend suspect high-profile homicide trial late judge hear relate charge another suspect case stem shoot deaths occur short-lived coup chavez april 2002. coup gunfire erupt opposition supporters march toward miraflores palace seat presidency witness late say saw rooftop snipers gunmen bridge gun-wielding police officer shoot time violence end 19 people dead basic facts event fuel years controversy trials still dispute critics supporters chavez maduro governments richard penalver government supporter accuse one shooters hire moreno defense lawyer 2003 moreno secure penalver acquittal victory pro-government camp shortly thereafter time pre-trial judge moreno agree hear whether case proceed ivan simonovis former caracas police commissioner face charge relate four deaths government opponents argue charge manipulate simonovis make scapegoat also perceive conflict moreno recent role clear penalver although defense ask moreno recuse accord one attorneys simonovis family member moreno refuse send case trial simonovis convict follow year sentence 30 years prison simonovis serve time house arrest illness allow term sentence discuss case reuters judge will hear polarize case none us want take political case one former supreme court justice tell reuters maikel though ingratiate chavez government time moreno get ever close crucial powerbrokers especially flores longtime boyfriend chavez confidante future successor maduro judge power couple grow regular contact former justice say moreno begin throw weight around judge 2004 caracas judge luis melendez record telephone conversation moreno say phone behest jose vicente rangel venezuela vice president time disturb prior call moreno melendez tap follow-up conversation give record internal inspectors national judiciary record copy review reuters moreno hear pressure melendez release saul cordero suspect criminal charge time drug arm traffic reuters also review transcript call print supreme court letterhead investigation moreno 2006. important thing moreno tell melendez need do senior government official one person familiar record say authentic clear whether melendez release cordero cordero never try charge eventually name police chief pro-government mayor municipality caroni reuters could reach cordero melendez rangel comment 2006 word phone call moreno controversial role 2002 shoot trials increasingly well-known judicial circle accord several judge attorneys officials active time supreme court order security division investigate result intelligence report unearth allegations help derail moreno first stint judge report instance hold moreno efforts affect judicial outcomes go beyond pressure colleagues cite testimony numerous witness allege moreno take part extortion ring know los enanos dwarves secure payments defendants exchange lenient sentence acquittals moreno never charge anything relate allege extortion behavior report warn threat court chavez revolution 2007 supreme court find moreno contempt tribunal defrock appeal court judge cite grave inexcusable errors high court find moreno improperly release two murder suspect accord rule reuters could determine ground moreno release two suspect despite ouster moreno remain calm accord people speak time ally like maduro chavez name foreign minister would help maduro cilia protect moreno tell ramiz accord former airline owner recollection conversation moreno shortly dismissal two remain friendly moreno leave aeropostal almost immediately maduro send moreno diplomatic post rome year maduro send moreno trinidad tobago caribbean country much close home hold commercial post venezuelan embassy 2010. moreno return caracas study doctorate chavez stricken cancer die march 2013. maduro vice president succeed chavez follow month weeks late marry flores make first lady ally firmly power moreno revive judicial career three senior judge say would remain moribund without connections give moreno arrest 1989 kill late ouster court system country 1999 constitution rewrite chavez stipulate head supreme court good repute 2014 maduro name moreno fresh doctorate constitutional law top court since moreno influence grow february 2017 maduro name chief justice outrage critics include gabriela ramirez national ombudsman time ramirez unsuccessfully seek derail appointment cite senior officials moreno ouster appeal court moreno chief justice court proceed dismiss every legal challenge maduro authority reach bench special report defrock judge become chief legal enforcer maduro 's venezuela