Trump administration tells prosecutors to stand down on Venezuela leader, sources say
MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to refrain from launching criminal investigations into Venezuela’s actions. President Delcy RodriguezThe long-time target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is the latest sign of warming relations between the White House and the United States, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials. oil rich country.
It is unclear whether prosecutors implicated Rodríguez in any crimes or whether investigators are moving toward an indictment. A Justice Department spokesman said in an email that “there was never an investigation into him that would be closed.”
However DEA records obtained by The Associated Press Earlier this year, it appeared that he had repeatedly popped up on federal law enforcement’s radar since at least 2018, but had never been criminally charged in the U.S. like several other high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
The order to halt the investigation into Rodríguez was aimed at avoiding disrupting the administration’s efforts to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of his predecessor. Nicolas MaduroThis was among other reasons, the official said. It was unclear whether the White House, which deferred comment to the Justice Department, was involved in the decision.
“Everyone was told to stand down,” one former official said.
All current officials, as well as former officials briefed on the development, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.
Rodríguez, the U.S. attorney representing him, and Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications did not respond to requests for comment.
This move relieves pressure on Rodriguez
The temporary removal of the threat of potential impeachment eases pressure on Rodríguez as the Trump administration seeks to work with the acting leader to stabilize Venezuela after Maduro’s ouster and open the country to U.S. investment.
President Donald Trump praised Rodríguez as an “amazing human being” shortly after the U.S. military took Maduro and his wife to New York to face federal narcotics charges. Both pleaded not guilty.
In recent months, USA lifted imposed sanctions against Rodríguez and recognized him as the sole head of state of Venezuela; This allowed him to reconnect with western banks and work more freely with US investors seeking to tap the world’s largest oil reserves. As ties between the two governments deepen, some have touted Venezuela’s playbook, characterized by oil blockades, accusations against senior leaders, and threats of military intervention, as a model for driving regime change from within while cracking down on other long-time enemies of the United States in Iran and Cuba.
Rodríguez and his brother, Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, were subject to US sanctions during Trump’s first term for their role in undermining Venezuelan democracy and entrenching Maduro’s authoritarian rule.
Trump wrote on social media in early March that Rodríguez was “doing a great job.” “The oil is starting to flow and it is great to see the professionalism and commitment between both countries!”
In recent months, Rodríguez has repeatedly hosted ceremonies attended by American oilmen; some of these joined high-profile oilmen. delegations Led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Election speeches postponed after Trump’s praise
Missing from any exchange of backhands, as Rodríguez did last month, is any talk of the election. Exceeded the 90-day limit The decision was made by Venezuela’s supreme court to temporarily replace Maduro.
“I don’t know,” he replied in English when a visiting US journalist earlier this month asked a question about the timeframe for holding the election. “A while.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demanded that the administration explain its positive treatment of Rodríguez, calling him “the central figure of Nicolás Maduro’s repressive regime.”
“Sanctions against Ms. Rodríguez have been lifted without any indication that she has taken concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order,” Sheehan wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week, joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Rick de la Torre, the CIA’s former station chief in Caracas, said the decision to protect Rodríguez was consistent with the Trump administration’s foreign policy goals in Venezuela.
“He was a lifelong Marxist and senior leader of one of the most corrupt regimes in the world, but the United States is giving him the breathing room and the carrot to lay the foundation of democracy and U.S. investments,” said de la Torre, CEO of Tower Strategy, which advises companies on Venezuela.
“However, his usefulness has a shelf life. At some point, he will face justice.” he added.
Rodríguez has been on the DEA’s radar since 2018
The DEA collected a detailed intelligence dossier on Rodríguez dating back to at least 2018, citing allegations against him ranging from drug trafficking to gold smuggling. The AP reported earlier this year. A confidential informant told the DEA in early 2021 that Rodríguez “used hotels at the Caribbean resort of Isla Margarita as a front to launder money,” records show.
His name has cropped up in nearly a dozen DEA investigations involving field offices from Paraguay and Ecuador to Phoenix and New York — many of which were ongoing as recently as this year. According to records, Maduro, who US authorities first arrested on money laundering charges in 2020, even had a connection with Alex Saab, an alleged bagman.
Rodríguez deported Saab This month as part of a purge of insider businessmen accused of corruptly enriching themselves with Maduro.
It is unclear in which Miami investigation Rodríguez’s name emerged. Rodríguez also showed up for meetings last year with investigators in Tampa who were assigned by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate financial crimes in Venezuela, two of the former officials said.
At the time, Rodríguez was serving as Maduro’s vice president. Justice Department policy requires the attorney general to personally approve the indictment of any foreign head of state who is normally immune from prosecution under international and U.S. law.
Halting high-profile criminal investigations against foreign leaders
The pause in investigations into Rodríguez comes as the Trump administration has similarly put the brakes on ongoing investigations. Federal investigations into another prominent Latin American leftist, Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
The DEA had also allegedly designated Petro as a “priority target.” connection with drug traffickers had been investigated by federal prosecutors for months. The New York Times reported in March that US officials had recently assured the Colombian government that Petro would not be charged in these cases.
Duncan Levin, a former prosecutor with the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, said it would be “deeply troubling” for law enforcement to be “told to retreat from a legitimate investigation for political or operational reasons.”
“The White House cannot use criminal sanctions as a diplomatic light switch,” Levin told the AP. “DOJ decisions are supposed to be based on law, evidence, policy, and public safety—not on whether a foreign official is useful to the administration at a particular moment.”
___ Durkin Richer reported from Washington and Mustian from New York. AP Writer Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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This story is part of an investigation that also includes the FRONTLINE documentary “Crisis in Venezuela,” which aired Feb. 10, 2026, on PBS. Watch the documentary at: pbs.org/frontlineinside PBS App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.
