Maduro's Successor Figures in US Drug Trafficking Investigations
Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, whom Donald Trump supported as a transitional figure after the capture of Nicolas Maduro, was under the close scrutiny of American services.
Photo: Jesus Vargas / Getty Images
Rodriguez, who served as Vice President under Maduro, had been on the radar of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for years, and in 2022 was even designated a "priority target" — a status the DEA reserves for suspects believed to have significant influence on drug trafficking, according to the Associated Press.
The DEA compiled a detailed intelligence dossier on Rodriguez, dating back to at least 2018, with accusations ranging from drug trafficking to gold smuggling. In early 2021, Rodriguez allegedly used hotels on the Caribbean resort island of Margarita "as a cover for money laundering." The U.S. has long considered this resort island a strategic hub for drug trafficking routes to the Caribbean and Europe.
She was also linked to Maduro's alleged "financier" Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman whom U.S. authorities arrested in 2020 on money laundering charges.
The U.S. government has never publicly accused Rodriguez of any criminal offenses.
Documents reviewed by the AP do not precisely explain why Rodriguez was elevated to "priority target" status. The agency has hundreds of priority targets at any given time, and having this label does not necessarily lead to criminal charges.
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