MIAMI — The Trump administration instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to avoid pursuing criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez to avoid disrupting U.S. efforts to stabilize Venezuela after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has lifted sanctions against Rodríguez and recognized her as Venezuela’s sole head of state.

According to a current U.S. law enforcement official, the directive to pause scrutiny of Rodríguez was specifically intended to support the administration’s post-Maduro stabilization strategy. “Everybody has been told to stand down,” said a former U.S. law enforcement official.

A Justice Department spokesperson disputed the existence of any such investigation, stating in an email, “There was never an investigation into her to shut down.” Despite this, DEA records show Rodríguez consistently surfaced on the radar of federal law enforcement dating to at least 2018. A confidential DEA informant alleged in early 2021 that she used hotels in Isla Margarita as a front to launder money. Rodríguez has never been criminally charged in the U.S., unlike several other senior Venezuelan officials.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen called Rodríguez a “central figure in Nicolás Maduro's repressive regime” and, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding an explanation for lifting sanctions without evidence of democratic reforms.

Rodríguez has hosted ceremonies with American oil executives, including delegations led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. It remains unclear whether the White House directly participated in the decision to halt investigations into Rodríguez.