AP obtains documents showing Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez has long been on DEA radar

Newly obtained documents show that Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez has been on the radar of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for years, even though she has never been publicly charged with any crime by U.S. authorities.

Records reviewed by the Associated Press indicate the DEA began closely tracking Rodriguez as early as 2018 and in 2022 designated her a "priority target," a label used for individuals believed to have a significant impact on the drug trade. The files detail intelligence reports, confidential informant claims and links to multiple investigations across several countries, although none has resulted in formal charges.

The documents suggest Rodriguez was connected to allegations ranging from money laundering and drug trafficking to gold smuggling. One informant alleged she used hotels on Venezuela's Margarita Island as a front for laundering money, claims the AP could not independently verify. She was also linked in records to Alex Saab, a close ally of former President Nicolas Maduro who was arrested in 2020 on U.S. money laundering charges and later pardoned.

Despite the scrutiny, the U.S. government has never publicly accused Rodriguez of criminal wrongdoing, and she is not among Venezuelan officials indicted in U.S. drug cases. The DEA and the Justice Department declined to comment on the findings.

The revelations come as U.S. President Donald Trump has recently portrayed Rodriguez, now Venezuela's acting president following Maduro's capture, as a potential partner for stabilizing the country. Analysts and opposition figures argue, however, that senior figures in Venezuela's leadership cannot rise to power without links to corruption.

Experts say the investigations give Washington leverage over Rodriguez as it seeks political and economic concessions from Venezuela's new leadership.