Here's an awkward situation: President Donald Trump has been calling Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez a "terrific person" and praising her cooperation with U.S. officials. Meanwhile, the DEA has maintained an intelligence file on her for years, tracking alleged connections to drug trafficking and money laundering operations.

What the DEA Files Show

According to records obtained by The Associated Press over the weekend, the Drug Enforcement Administration has been building a file on Rodríguez since at least 2018. The documents catalog alleged ties to drug trafficking, gold smuggling, and money laundering activities across the Americas.

One confidential informant told DEA agents in 2021 that Rodríguez used hotels on Venezuela's Isla Margarita as fronts for laundering money. Her name has reportedly surfaced in nearly a dozen DEA investigations spanning the United States and Latin America, including connections to Alex Saab, Maduro's alleged bag man who was arrested in 2020 on money laundering charges.

By 2022, Rodríguez had been designated a "priority target" by the agency. Three current and former DEA agents who reviewed the documents told the AP that the agency's interest in Rodríguez intensified as her political power grew.

The Disconnect Between Investigation and Indictment

Despite years of DEA scrutiny, the U.S. government has never publicly accused Rodríguez of any wrongdoing. She's not among the Venezuelan officials who have been charged alongside Maduro.

Kurt Lunkenheimer, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, explained the situation: "She was on the rise, so it's not surprising that she might become a high-priority target. The issue is when people talk about you and you become a high-priority target, there's a difference between that and evidence supporting an indictment."

That hasn't stopped Trump from embracing Rodríguez as a partner in post-Maduro Venezuela. Since Maduro's capture, the president has repeatedly described her as being in close contact with U.S. officials and instrumental to American interests in the region.

Oil Promises and Military Interventions

Last week, Trump claimed the U.S. had begun receiving large oil shipments from Venezuela following what he called a "flawless" operation to capture Maduro. He suggested these deliveries would help lower fuel prices domestically.

The administration's Venezuela strategy has raised questions in Congress. Vice President J.D. Vance recently cast the deciding vote to defeat a Senate resolution that would have required Trump to seek congressional approval before taking additional military action in Venezuela.

Trump has floated the possibility of a second military intervention in Venezuela and hinted at potential actions in Colombia and Mexico if those governments don't align with U.S. objectives. He even warned that Rodríguez could face a fate worse than Maduro's if she doesn't cooperate.

Earlier this month, Rodríguez demanded proof of life for Maduro and his wife following the U.S. military strike that led to his capture.

Neither Rodríguez nor the White House responded to requests for comment.