Washington Post: Claver-Carone Acts as Unofficial US 'Venezuela Viceroy'; Senators Question Rodríguez Sanctions Relief

The Washington Post published an investigation on May 25, 2026 exposing the outsized and largely unaccountable role of Mauricio Claver-Carone — a former Inter-American Development Bank president fired under the Biden administration — in shaping the Trump administration's Venezuela policy without holding a formal government position. Claver-Carone has direct access to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Council officials and has been described by insiders as functioning as an informal 'viceroy' over US-Venezuela relations, making or influencing decisions on which Venezuelan officials receive sanctions relief, what conditions are imposed on the transitional government, and how US oil investment access in Venezuela is allocated. The investigation raised concerns about lack of congressional oversight and transparency. Separately, a May 20 letter from Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren to Secretary Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanded an explanation for the removal of sanctions on Acting President Delcy Rodríguez — a longtime DEA drug trafficking target — without corresponding democratic reforms or accountability requirements from Venezuela's transitional government. The senators warned that unconditioned sanctions relief could strengthen the remaining Chavista power structure rather than incentivizing genuine democratic transition.