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[Venezuelan psychologist Juan José (J.J.)] Rendón, 54, deploys social media and grass-roots tactics to protect democracy from what he views as a neo-totalitarian threat, best personified by what he calls the "criminal gang" now running Venezuela. He often evokes comparisons to longtime conservative strategist Karl Rove. Foes, however, depict him as a Roger Stone-like figure, calling him the "king of black propaganda." Rendón is deeply aware of the myth built around his controversial public self, but he won't discuss his campaigns and methods in detail, labeling such talk "disrespectful."

Juan Diego Zelaya, a Honduran politician who met Rendón on Porfirio Lobo Sosa's successful 2009 presidential campaign, says Rendón "basically sees everything happening five to seven moves in advance. It's not the typical 'Hey, let's talk about grassroots, strategy, messaging.' No. He'll tell you the story of what's supposed to happen, and then he works backward."

Rendón wielded those tactics against Latin America's early-21st-century leftward turn, as the socialist model spread from Venezuela to Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. As a consultant, he helped right-leaning politicians win multiple presidential elections, including the two-term Colombian Juan Manuel Santos who signed a peace deal with FARC rebels. He also helped Mexico's recently departed president, Enrique Peña Nieto, ascend to power. [...]

In 2004, Rendón called fraud on Hugo Chavez's electoral victory, was chased out of his homeland and found himself country-less and in the U.S. with a nullified passport. Maduro's regime in June 2013 declared Rendón public enemy No. 1 for conspiring against socialism. "One day, we will get him and throw him behind bars and he'll pay for all the damage he's done to Venezuela," Maduro said. In 2016, the U.S. granted Rendón asylum.

Today, dressed all in jet black save for white socks, he stretches out on a white sofa and lights up a white Belmont, his choice Venezuelan brand of smokes.

As Peña Nieto leaves office amid scandal, Rendón admits regrets about his choice of clients. "Power changes people," he says. "Around 30 percent of the people we work with, they get changed by power. And half of those people change for the worse."

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