The Trump administration has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to halt criminal investigations against Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. This move is a part of the recent attempts to improve relations between the U.S. and the South American nation, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials.
It remains uncertain whether prosecutors had any evidence against Rodríguez or if the investigation was moving toward formal charges. A Justice Department spokesperson stated via email that, “no investigation regarding her closure existed.” However, DEA records obtained by The Associated Press show Rodríguez has been on the radar of federal law enforcement agencies since at least 2018, though she has never faced criminal charges in the U.S., unlike other Venezuelan officials.
The directive to pause scrutiny on Rodríguez aims not to hinder the U.S. government’s efforts to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro. It is unclear if the White House, which deferred inquiries to the Justice Department, participated in the decision-making process. “Everyone has been told to stop,” commented one former official who was briefed on the development, along with a current official, speaking to the AP under anonymity as they are not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.
Neither Rodríguez nor a lawyer representing her in the U.S., nor Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication responded to requests for comments. Removing the threat of potential formal charges, albeit temporarily, decreases the pressure on Rodríguez while the Trump administration seeks to cooperate with her to stabilize Venezuela and introduce U.S. investment.
Trump called Rodríguez a “great person” shortly after the U.S. military brought Maduro and his spouse to New York, who are facing federal narcotics charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
In recent months, the U.S. has lifted sanctions on Rodríguez and recognized her as the sole head of state in Venezuela. This recognition has allowed her to restore ties with Western banks and work more closely with U.S. investors eager to access Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
As relations between the two governments deepen, there are proposals presenting Washington’s approach to the South American country—marked by oil embargoes, formal charges against senior leaders, and threats of military intervention—as a strategy for instigating regime change from within. The U.S. is applying this pressure to other longstanding adversaries like Iran and Cuba.
Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly, faced sanctions from the White House during Trump’s initial term for undermining Venezuelan democracy and solidifying Maduro’s authoritarian regime. “Rodríguez is doing a great job,” Trump wrote on social media in early March, emphasizing that “oil is starting to flow,” and praising the professionalism and dedication between the two countries.
Recently, Rodríguez has presided over ceremonies accompanied by a steady stream of American oil executives, some part of high-profile delegations led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The electoral issue is postponed amid Trump’s praise.
Amid all the admiration, discussions regarding elections in Venezuela remain absent, despite Rodríguez surpassing a 90-day limit set by the Venezuelan Supreme Court to temporarily hold Maduro’s post. “I don’t know,” she responded in English to a visiting U.S. journalist earlier this month when pressed about the timeline for elections. “Sometime.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demands an explanation from the government for its favorable treatment toward Rodríguez, whom she described as a “central figure in Nicolás Maduro’s repressive regime.” Shaheen, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter last week to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating that sanctions were lifted from Rodríguez without any indication of her taking concrete and significant action to restore democratic order.
Rick de la Torre, a former CIA station chief in Caracas, noted that the decision to halt any criminal investigation into Rodríguez aligns well with the U.S. foreign policy objectives in Venezuela. “She’s a lifelong Marxist and was a senior leader of one of the world’s most corrupt regimes, yet the U.S. is providing her oxygen to lay the groundwork for democracy and U.S. investment,” commented De la Torre, CEO of Tower Strategy, which advises companies seeking business opportunities in Venezuela.
“However, her utility has an expiration date. At some point, she will face justice,” he added.
Rodríguez has been on the DEA’s radar since 2018
The DEA had assembled a detailed intelligence file on Rodríguez since at least 2018 and has received allegations against her ranging from drug trafficking to gold smuggling, the AP reported months ago. A confidential informant told the DEA early 2021 that Rodríguez was using hotels in the Caribbean destination of Isla Margarita as fronts for money laundering, according to the records.
Her name appeared in nearly a dozen DEA investigations—many of which were ongoing this year—involving field offices from Paraguay and Ecuador to Phoenix and New York. She was also linked to Maduro’s alleged “collector,” Alex Saab, whom U.S. authorities first arrested in 2020 on money laundering charges, according to the records.
Rodríguez deported Saab this month as part of a purge of entrepreneurs close to power accused of profiteering through corrupt deals with Maduro. It’s unclear which Miami investigations featured Rodríguez’s name. Two former officials stated that Rodríguez also appeared in meetings with investigators in Tampa, directed last year by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, to investigate financial crimes in Venezuela.
At that time, Rodríguez served as Maduro’s vice president. Justice Department policy requires the Attorney General personally approve charging any foreign head of state, typically immune from criminal prosecution under international and U.S. law.
Halting criminal investigations against foreign leaders
The pause in investigations into Rodríguez comes as the Trump administration also halts ongoing federal investigations on another prominent leftist Latin American leader: Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.
The DEA had also designated Petro a “priority target” over alleged links with drug traffickers, which federal prosecutors had examined for months. The New York Times reported in March that U.S. officials recently assured the Colombian government that Petro faces no charges in these cases.
Duncan Levin, a former prosecutor in Brooklyn’s federal prosecutor’s office, expressed concern that law enforcement agencies “are ordered to halt legitimate investigations for political or transactional reasons.” “The White House cannot use criminal law enforcement as a diplomatic switch,” Levin told the AP. “Justice Department decisions should be based on law, evidence, policies, and public safety, not on whether a foreign official is useful to the administration at any given moment.”
Durkin Richer reported from Washington and Mustian from New York. AP journalist Regina García Cano contributed from Mexico City.
Leave a Reply