The United States has accused former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, of conspiring to torture political opponents and American citizens to remain in power. But the new criminal charges raise an uncomfortable question about Washington's relationship with the government Maduro left behind: What about Delcy Rodríguez?
Rodríguez was Maduro's vice president, one of his closest political allies and a senior official in the government whose security apparatus U.S. prosecutors now accuse of systematic torture. Today, she leads Venezuela with the backing of President Donald Trump's administration, which removed U.S. sanctions against her in April.
