A former Chávez insider who once moved through the upper ranks of Venezuelan diplomacy has resurfaced in a highly unlikely place as a co-producer on "Melania," the glossy Amazon-backed documentary built around first lady Melania Trump. IMDb's full credits list "Max Arvelaiz," also identified as Maximilien Arveláiz, as a co-producer on the film, which Amazon MGM says offers "unprecedented access" to Melania Trump in the weeks before the 2025 inauguration.
The political contrast is jarring. Maximilien Sánchez Arveláiz was a loyal figure in the orbit of Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro, serving in senior diplomatic roles for Caracas during years of deep hostility between Venezuela and the United States. Reporting from the Huffington Post from that period identified him as Venezuela's top diplomat in Washington or its would-be ambassador, while Maduro publicly named him to fill the vacant post in 2014. He is also credited as a liason to help liberate American hostages of the Chavista regime.
