MIAMI (AP) 鈥� The Trump administration has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to avoid pursuing criminal investigations into Venezuela鈥檚 acting , a longtime target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials, in the latest sign of warming relations between the White House and .
It鈥檚 unclear whether prosecutors had implicated 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 in any crimes or whether investigators were moving toward an indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson said in an email 鈥渢here was never an investigation into her to shut down.鈥�
But earlier this year show she consistently surfaced on the radar of federal law enforcement dating to at least 2018, though she has never been criminally charged in the U.S. like several other senior Venezuelan officials.
The directive to pause scrutiny into 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 was meant to avoid upsetting the administration鈥檚 efforts to stabilize Venezuela after the capture of her predecessor, , among other reasons, a current official said. It was not clear whether the White House, which deferred comment to the Justice Department, was involved in the decision.
鈥淓verybody has been told to stand down,鈥� one of the former officials said.
The former officials, who had been briefed on the development, as well as the current official all spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.
搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄, a U.S. attorney representing her, and the Venezuelan Communications Ministry didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment.
The move eases pressure on Rodriguez
Removing the threat of potential indictment, even temporarily, eases pressure on 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 as the Trump administration seeks to work with the acting leader to stabilize Venezuela after Maduro鈥檚 ouster and open the country to U.S. investment.
President Donald Trump praised 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 as a 鈥渢errific person鈥� shortly after the U.S. military took Maduro and his wife to New York to face federal narcotics charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
In recent months, the sanctions against 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 and recognized her as Venezuela’s sole head of state, allowing her to re-establish ties with western banks and more freely work with U.S. investors seeking to tap into the world’s largest petroleum reserves. As ties between the two governments have deepened, some have held out the Venezuelan playbook 鈥� characterized by oil blockades, indictments of top leaders, and threats of military intervention 鈥� as a model to drive regime change from within as the U.S. pressures other longtime adversaries in Iran and Cuba.
搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 and her brother, Jorge 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄, the head of the National Assembly, were hit with U.S. sanctions during Trump鈥檚 first term for their role in undermining Venezuelan democracy and cementing Maduro’s authoritarian rule.
搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 鈥渋s doing a great job,鈥� Trump wrote on social media in early March. “The Oil is beginning to flow, and the professionalism and dedication between both Countries is a very nice thing to see!鈥�
In recent months, 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 has hosted ceremonies with a steady stream of American oilmen, some of them partaking in high-profile led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
Election talk deferred amid Trump’s praise
Missing in all the mutual backslapping is any talk of elections, even as 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 last month set by Venezuela’s high court to fill Maduro’s position on a temporary basis.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� she responded in English when a visiting U.S. journalist earlier this month shouted out a question about her time frame for holding elections. 鈥淪ome time.鈥�
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has demanded the administration explain its favorable treatment of 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄, calling her a 鈥渃entral figure in Nicol谩s Maduro’s repressive regime.鈥�
鈥淪anctions have been lifted on Ms. 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 without any indication that she has taken concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order,鈥� Sheehan, joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent last week.
Rick de la Torre, a former CIA chief of station in Caracas, said that the decision to shield 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 fits well with the Trump administration鈥檚 foreign policy goals in Venezuela.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a lifelong Marxist and was a senior leader of one of the world鈥檚 most corrupt regimes but the U.S. is providing her with breathing space and carrots to lay the foundation for democracy and U.S. investment,鈥� said de la Torre, the CEO of Tower Strategy, which advises companies on Venezuela.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a shelf life to her utility, however. At some point she will face justice.,” he added.
搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 has been on DEA’s radar since 2018
The DEA had amassed a detailed intelligence file on 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 dating to at least 2018, and has received allegations about her ranging from drug trafficking to gold smuggling, . One confidential informant told DEA in early 2021 that 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 was using hotels in the Caribbean resort of Isla Margarita 鈥渁s a front to launder money,鈥� the records show.
Her name has surfaced in nearly a dozen DEA investigations 鈥� several of which remained ongoing as recently as this year 鈥� involving field offices from Paraguay and Ecuador to Phoenix and New York. She had even been linked to Maduro鈥檚 alleged bag man, Alex Saab, whom U.S. authorities first arrested in 2020 on money-laundering charges, the records show.
搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 this month as part of a purge of insider businessmen who are accused of having enriched themselves through corrupt dealings with Maduro.
It’s unclear in which Miami investigations 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄’s name surfaced. Two of the former officials said 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 has also come up in meetings with investigators in Tampa tasked last year by former Attorney General Pam Bondi with looking into financial crimes in Venezuela.
At the time, 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 was serving as Maduro’s vice president. Justice Department policy requires the attorney general to personally approve the charging of any foreign head of state, who are normally immune from prosecution under international and U.S. law.
Halting high-profile criminal probes of foreign leaders
The pausing of the investigations into 搁辞诲谤铆驳耻别锄 comes as the Trump administration has similarly tapped the brakes on ongoing .
The DEA had also designated Petro a 鈥減riority target鈥� over alleged that had been probed for months by federal prosecutors. The New York Times reported in March that U.S. officials recently assured the Colombian government Petro does not face charges in those cases.
Duncan Levin, a former prosecutor who worked for the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office in Brooklyn, said it would be 鈥渄eeply troubling鈥� for law enforcement to be 鈥渢old to stand down from a legitimate investigation for political or transactional reasons.鈥�
鈥淭he White House cannot use criminal enforcement as a diplomatic light switch,鈥� Levin told AP. 鈥淒OJ decisions are supposed to be based on law, evidence, policy and public safety 鈥� not on whether a foreign official is useful to the administration at a given moment.鈥�
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This story was first published on May. 27, 2026. It was updated on May. 28, 2026 to make clear that the details attributed in the original story to an unspecified official were shared by a current official.
___ 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 includes the FRONTLINE documentary 鈥淐risis in Venezuela,鈥� which aired Feb. 10, 2026, on PBS. Watch the documentary at , in the and on .
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