The Trump administration is building a criminal case against Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez, including draft corruption and money laundering charges. Federal prosecutors in Miami are crafting the indictment as leverage to ensure Rodriguez complies with U.S. demands following the January capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration is working behind the scenes to develop criminal charges against Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, including preparing a potential indictment for corruption and money laundering, according to four sources with knowledge of the situation.
Federal prosecutors have assembled potential charges and have informed Rodriguez that she faces prosecution risk if she fails to continue meeting Trump’s requirements after the United States removed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro from power in January, sources revealed.
Four individuals briefed on the situation spoke with Reuters about the draft indictment being developed against Rodriguez for suspected money laundering and corruption activities. The sources indicated that Rodriguez has been verbally notified of these potential charges.
Miami’s U.S. Attorney’s Office is developing the preliminary charges, according to the sources, who noted the document has been refined over the last two months. The investigation centers on Rodriguez’s suspected role in money laundering connected to Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, three sources confirmed, covering alleged activities from 2021 to 2025.
The Department of Justice refused to provide comment on the matter. Following publication of a summary on the Reuters World News morning podcast, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X, calling the report “completely FALSE from @reuters. Not sure how such fake news makes its way to publication.”
Reuters responded with a statement saying: “We stand by our reporting that the Department of Justice is preparing an indictment against Delcy Rodriguez, the new president of Venezuela.”
Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to Reuters’ inquiries regarding this story.
Beyond the potential indictment, U.S. officials have given Rodriguez a roster of at least seven former high-ranking party officials, associates and family members they want her to detain or maintain in Venezuelan custody for possible extradition, four sources confirmed. Spain’s ABC newspaper initially reported this development.
Rodriguez confronts this pressure just two months after assuming leadership following a rapid U.S. special forces operation that captured Maduro and transported the long-time authoritarian ruler to New York to face narcoterrorism and cocaine trafficking charges. Maduro has entered a not guilty plea and remains in New York custody awaiting trial.
Publicly, Trump has praised Rodriguez for her cooperation with the United States and described Venezuela as “our new friend and partner” during his State of the Union speech.
However, the potential indictment represents another negotiating tool the United States has developed to pressure Venezuelan government members, previously loyal to Maduro, into following American directives.
Venezuela’s communications ministry, which manages all government media inquiries, did not respond to detailed questions about the potential charges being developed against Rodriguez.
Creating a draft indictment does not guarantee prosecutors will bring the case before a grand jury, which would need to determine probable cause exists to believe Rodriguez committed crimes. Grand jury proceedings remain confidential, and Reuters could not establish whether prosecutors have begun presenting evidence against Rodriguez to a grand jury.
Since capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, Trump has depended on Rodriguez, Maduro’s 56-year-old former vice president, to maintain Venezuelan stability while prioritizing American companies’ access to the OPEC member’s oil resources.
Flores has also entered a not guilty plea to federal charges including drug trafficking.
Additional Rodriguez administration members already facing U.S. indictments include hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, who along with Rodriguez are veteran members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, established by the late Hugo Chávez. Both Cabello and Padrino, who remain in power in post-Maduro Venezuela, have consistently rejected any wrongdoing allegations.
Most individuals the United States wants Rodriguez to arrest or keep detained already face U.S. indictments for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses, four sources familiar with the matter confirmed.
Laura Dogu, the recently appointed U.S. envoy to Venezuela, presented the request to Rodriguez, sources informed Reuters.
The high-profile names provided to Rodriguez include Alex Saab, 54, who gained prominence as a close Maduro associate and became one of the most powerful financial figures within the Chavista movement, according to four sources.
After an Interpol notice requested by the United States, Saab was previously detained by local authorities in Cape Verde in 2020 while traveling to Iran on official Maduro government business. Following extradition to the United States, he faced bribery and money laundering charges for allegedly channeling $350 million from a corrupt Venezuelan housing construction program through the U.S. financial system, before the Biden administration released him in 2023 through a prisoner exchange.
Reuters reported Saab’s arrest in early February and two sources confirmed he remains held by Venezuelan intelligence service SEBIN. The United States has a new sealed money-laundering indictment against Saab, two sources said, though its current status remains unclear.
Should Saab be extradited, he could provide information to U.S. authorities that might strengthen their criminal case against Maduro, according to a source briefed on the situation.
Whether Saab, a Colombian granted Venezuelan citizenship by Maduro, will be extradited to the United States remains uncertain. Venezuelan law forbids extraditing Venezuelan nationals, creating an obstacle for several individuals Washington seeks.
Saab’s U.S.-based attorney Neil M. Schuster did not respond to detailed inquiries about whether Saab has been detained, any charges he might face, or whether he provided testimony about Maduro during his previous U.S. detention.
The list also includes media mogul Raul Gorrin, who has been detained by SEBIN in Venezuela within the past month, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
Gorrin faces multiple federal U.S. charges, primarily related to bribery, money laundering, and corruption involving Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.
Gorrin did not respond to emails and text messages seeking comment, nor did his media company Globovisión.
Howard Srebnick, a Miami attorney who previously represented Gorrin, did not immediately respond to a comment request.