Money laundering, gold smuggling, shadow contacts
Venezuela’s president has probably been in the sights of US authorities for years
January 18, 2026 – 12:00 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Delcy Rodríguez is the new president of Venezuela and has the support of the USA. According to a report, US authorities have been investigating her for years.
The new Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez has found herself at the center of new revelations after her appointment as interim head of state. As can be seen from documents available to the AP news agency, the US drug agency DEA has listed Rodríguez as the target of extensive investigations for years – at times even as a “priority target”.
After the kidnapping of former President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces, US President Donald Trump publicly portrayed Rodríguez as a possible partner for stabilizing Venezuela. What went unmentioned was that the DEA has been systematically observing them since 2018 at the latest. In 2022, the investigators classified them as a particularly high-ranking target – an internal category for people who are considered to have significant influence on the drug trade.
The files record numerous contacts and allegations, including suspected money laundering, gold smuggling and connections to well-known players in the Venezuelan shadow economy. This includes Álex Saab, Maduro’s close confidante and his alleged money messenger.
Rodríguez was only linked to Saab last year. Saab was arrested by US authorities in 2020 on money laundering allegations. In 2023 he was released through a prisoner exchange. On Saturday, Rodríguez fired Saab from his post as industry minister. “I thank comrade Álex Saab for his work in the service of the fatherland,” Rodríguez wrote. The previous minister will now take on “new responsibilities”.
According to the report, a DEA informant also said in early 2021 that Rodríguez was using hotels on the Caribbean island of Margarita as a front to launder money. AP was unable to independently verify evidence of this.
Rodríguez has not yet been publicly accused. Unlike more than a dozen former top officials, she is not one of the members of Maduro’s entourage accused by the US of drug crimes. Nevertheless, according to the AP, her name appears in almost a dozen ongoing or completed DEA investigations – from South America to the United States.
Several former and current DEA agents said anonymously that the documents show the agency’s ongoing interest in Rodríguez. However, it is not clear from the files why she was officially declared a priority target. The status alone is not enough for an indictment, former US Attorney Kurt Lunkenheimer told the news agency.
