The intrigue swirling around Venezuela’s power circles just took a wild turn. Acting president Delcy Rodríguez, long painted as a reliable ally by Washington in the hope of bringing order to the chaotic nation, has actually been a person of interest for U.S. drug authorities for years.

While U.S. President Donald Trump made headlines by announcing the dramatic apprehension of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to answer to American drug trafficking allegations, what slipped under the radar was the shadow over Rodríguez herself.

Internal files and sources reveal that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been scrutinizing Rodríguez since as far back as 2018. In a blockbuster twist, the DEA marked her a “priority target” in 2022—a label reserved only for figures suspected of wielding heavy influence over the international drug racket, according to records reviewed by the Associated Press and interviews with more than six U.S. law enforcement officers, past and present.

Forget the diplomatic niceties—Rodríguez’s name turns up in intelligence dossiers linking her not just to narcotics, but to a web of gold smuggling schemes and a colorful cast of associates. One secret informant spilled to investigators in early 2021 that Rodríguez was allegedly funneling dirty money through luxurious Caribbean hotels on Isla Margarita, using them as laundering operations, the records say.

But the allegations don’t stop there: Last year, her name was splashed across yet another scandal, tied to Maduro’s notorious “bagman,” Alex Saab, a high-profile fixer nabbed by U.S. authorities in 2020 on charges of cleaning dirty cash.

While official statements have painted Rodríguez as a stabilizing force during Venezuela’s ongoing turmoil, the secret investigations and intelligence files tell a far different—and far murkier—story. Looks like Washington’s trust may have been misplaced in Venezuela’s acting head of state all along.