The Trump administration is reportedly preparing criminal charges against Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Federal prosecutors in Miami have drafted potential corruption and money laundering charges against Rodríguez as part of a broader effort to increase Washington’s leverage over Venezuela’s new leadership, according to Reuters. Four people familiar with the matter told the outlet that officials have conveyed to Rodríguez that she faces prosecution if she fails to comply with U.S. demands following the capture of her deposed predecessor Nicolás Maduro.
The draft indictment reportedly centers on alleged laundering of funds tied to Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, and spans conduct between 2021 and 2025, sources told Reuters. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has worked on the case for roughly two months and Rodríguez has been informed verbally about the potential charges, the outlet reported.
Although Reuters publicly stood by its reporting, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche disputed the story on social media, calling it “completely FALSE.”
President Donald Trump has praised Rodríguez’s cooperation and described Venezuela as a potential partner. Behind the scenes, however, U.S. officials have reportedly presented her with a list of former regime figures Washington wants detained or kept in custody for possible extradition, according to Reuters.
The Los Angeles Times reported that she has moved to open Venezuela’s energy sector to U.S. companies and authorized the release of several political detainees. At the same time, she must contend with influential figures such as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who was indicted in New York in 2020 on narcoterrorism and related charges, according to prior U.S. court filings cited by the Los Angeles Times.
Rodríguez is a member of Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela and served as his vice president from 2018 until the left-wing dictator’s overthrow by U.S. forces in January.
In January, Trump warned Rodríguez that she would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” if she refused to comply with U.S. demands. Trump made the remarks in a phone interview with The Atlantic following the U.S. military capture of Maduro, who is now being held in New York.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request to comment.
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