Trump administration tells prosecutors to stand down on Venezuela leader, sources say
It’s unclear whether prosecutors implicated Rodriguez 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.”
But DEA records obtained by The Associated Press earlier this year show that he has consistently been on federal law enforcement’s radar since at least 2018; but he was never indicted in the United States, as were many other high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
The order to halt the investigation into Rodriguez was aimed, among other reasons, at avoiding disrupting the administration’s efforts to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of his predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, 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.
Rodriguez, the U.S. attorney representing him, and Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications did not respond to requests for comment. This move eases the pressure on Rodriguez. As the Trump administration tries to work with the acting leader to stabilize Venezuela after Maduro’s ouster and open the country to US investment, the temporary removal of the potential threat of impeachment eases the pressure on Rodriguez.
President Donald Trump praised Rodriguez 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, the United States lifted sanctions against Rodriguez and recognized him as the sole president of Venezuela; thus allowing Rodríguez to reconnect with western banks and work more freely with U.S. 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 from 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.
Rodriguez and his brother Jorge Rodriguez, the speaker 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 Rodriguez 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, Rodriguez has hosted a steady stream of ceremonies attended by American oilmen; some of them joined high-profile delegations led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Election talk delayed amid Trump praise Although Rodriguez last month exceeded a 90-day deadline set by Venezuela’s supreme court to temporarily fill Maduro’s position, any talk of elections in Venezuela was missing amid backlash.
“I don’t know,” he replied in English when a visiting US journalist asked him about the time frame for holding the election earlier this month. “Sometime.”
Rick de la Torre, the CIA’s former station chief in Caracas, said the decision to halt any criminal investigation into Rodriguez was in line 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 looking to do business in Venezuela.
“But his use has a shelf life. At some point he will face justice.” he added.
Rodriguez has been on the DEA’s radar since 2018, the AP reported earlier this year. The DEA collected a detailed intelligence dossier on Rodriguez dating back to at least 2018, citing allegations against him ranging from drug trafficking to gold smuggling. A confidential informant told the DEA in early 2021 that Rodriguez was using 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.
Rodriguez deported Saab this month as part of a purge of insider businessmen accused of enriching themselves through corruption with Maduro.
It is unclear in which Miami investigation Rodriguez’s name emerged. Rodriguez 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, Rodriguez 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 into foreign leaders The pause in investigations into Rodriguez comes as the Trump administration has similarly curbed ongoing federal investigations into another prominent Latin American leftist, Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
The DEA had also designated Petro as a “priority target” because of his alleged ties to drug traffickers who have 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” if federal law enforcement was “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.”
