Trump administration tells prosecutors to stand down on Venezuela leader, sources say – AP
The Trump administration has quietly directed federal prosecutors in Miami not to pursue criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the Associated Press reports, citing current and former U.S. law enforcement officials, marking another sign of warming ties between Washington and Caracas.
It is unclear whether prosecutors had ever formally implicated Rodríguez in crimes or were moving toward an indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson said in an email that “there was never an investigation into her to shut down.”
However, Drug Enforcement Administration records obtained by The Associated Press show Rodríguez has been on the radar of U.S. law enforcement since at least 2018, including being flagged as a “priority target,” though she has never been charged in the United States like other senior Venezuelan officials.
Officials said the move to pause scrutiny was intended to avoid undermining the administration’s broader effort to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and other diplomatic considerations.
