The United States has put a $25 million bounty on his head. Federal prosecutors say he trafficked tons of cocaine. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions for embezzlement and the U.N. accuses him of terrorizing opponents.

Still, a lengthy résumé of alleged wrongdoing has not kept Diosdado Cabello, a top Venezuelan government minister, from working closely with senior American officials — a relationship that has become more public following two major earthquakes.

A senior U.S. diplomat shook Mr. Cabello’s hand and patted him on the shoulder at a public event this month. American generals sat across from him at a meeting the next day, and were photographed laughing with him before the gathering began.

Mr. Cabello’s overnight transformation from a top U.S. target into a tolerated, even accepted, partner has arguably been the most unexpected result of the Trump administration’s military intervention in Venezuela in January.

To supporters of U.S. policy, the accommodation with Mr. Cabello is a pragmatic concession to achieve greater stability in Venezuela. To President Trump’s opponents, Mr. Cabello’s enduring prominence in power is the most glaring example of the administration’s betrayal of the Venezuelan people’s desire for political change.

The raid by U.S. Special Forces in January that toppled Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, turned the country into a de facto U.S. protectorate.

To control Venezuela, the Trump administration has chosen to work with officials in Mr. Maduro’s autocratic regime rather than the pro-democracy opposition. As a result, many of the most infamous enforcers of the fallen leader’s repressive apparatus have been reintegrated into a new, U.S.-sponsored government.

The back-to-back earthquakes that devastated Venezuela last month have only deepened the Trump administration’s cooperation with Mr. Maduro’s inner circle.

U.S. officials have declared their unequivocal support for the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and rushed aid and hundreds of soldiers to assist in rescue and reconstruction efforts.

In practice, that has created a jarring dynamic — many Venezuelan officials who deal daily with American counterparts are wanted by the United States on criminal charges or have been banned from doing business with Americans by the U.S. government.

In some cases, Trump administration officials now work with Venezuelans targeted by other Trump officials during the American president’s current or previous administration.

Take the case of Mr. Cabello, a founding member of the Socialist Party, which has ruled Venezuela for the past three decades. Widely seen as one of Venezuela’s most powerful men, Mr. Cabello kept his post as the country’s interior minister after the U.S. raid. Since then, he has embraced his new role as a promoter of American interests.

But Mr. Cabello is also a defendant in a drug trafficking case that U.S. prosecutors have brought against Mr. Maduro, who awaits trial in a Brooklyn jail. An indictment says Mr. Cabello “worked with other members of the Venezuelan regime to coordinate the shipment” of 5 and 1/2 tons of cocaine from Venezuela.

The U.S. Treasury separately imposed sanctions on Mr. Cabello for corruption during Mr. Trump’s first term. The U.N. has accused Mr. Cabello of being one of the leaders of Venezuela’s repression apparatus.

In addition, the Chilean government accuses Mr. Cabello of ordering the assassination in 2024 of an exiled Venezuelan dissident in Santiago, the Chilean capital. The Chilean prosecutor leading the case, Héctor Barros, said in a statement that his office is seeking to bring Mr. Cabello to justice, but added that the case is complicated by Venezuela’s extradition restrictions.

A spokesman for Mr. Cabello did not respond to requests for comment.

The State Department currently lists Mr. Cabello as a “wanted” criminal and offers $25 million “for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction.”

Mr. Cabello, nevertheless, is prominently involved in his government’s earthquake response with the United States.

He toured a disaster zone this month with John Barrett, the head of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela. A video posted by the Los Angeles Fire Department, which helped with rescue efforts, showed Mr. Barrett shaking Mr. Cabello’s hand and patting him on the shoulder.

Mr. Barrett evaded the question when asked at a news conference if the bounty on Mr. Cabello remained in place.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked the same question during a news conference in May and said: “The U.S. policy on this issue has not changed.”

The State Department did not provide an on-the-record comment.

Mr. Cabello is one of several senior Venezuelan officials accused by the United States of crimes or human rights violations.

The country’s defense minister, Gen. Gustavo González López, who was appointed to his post this year with Washington’s blessing, was sanctioned by the United States in 2015 for suppressing protests.

And this month, a New York Times reporter spotted a senior Venezuelan counterintelligence officer, Col. Alexander Granko, standing inside the secure area of the country’s main airport watching U.S. military helicopters taking off a few hundred feet away. It is unclear what if any formal post he holds in the current government.

The first Trump administration imposed sanctions on Mr. Granko for “systemic human rights abuses and repressing dissent.” The U.N and numerous human rights groups have accused him of torture.

Venezuela’s communications ministry did not respond to requests for comment regarding Mr. González López and Mr. Granko.

Mr. Cabello, once an ardent foe of the United States, has drastically shifted his rhetoric and moved to reshape his public image since Mr. Maduro’s downfall. His transformation is driven by an overriding goal — to be useful to Americans, and in doing so, play a constructive part in his country’s new phase, people who know him said.

After decades of diatribes against American imperialism, he has dropped any criticism of Washington and traded his usual garish red shirts and paramilitary outfits for more somber attire, including an occasional suit and tie.

Months after warning that a U.S. attack on Venezuela would result in “another Vietnam,” he has been promoting military cooperation with Washington.

Mr. Cabello’s extensive influence among Venezuela’s military and security forces has earned him a spot in the country’s informal ruling clique. He effectively shares power with Ms. Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, the leader of congress. All three are longtime Maduro lieutenants.

Political analysts have called the arrangement the triumvirate, with Mr. Cabello responsible for maintaining domestic security and stability.

The job holds particular significance for Washington because Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that U.S. intervention has brought Venezuelans peace and joy.

Shortly after Mr. Maduro’s capture, an adviser to Mr. Cabello circulated a statement portraying him as a guarantor of peace.

“When the power vacuum threatens to spill into a civil conflict of incalculable proportions, the order from Diosdado Cabello was decisive: ‘Stay calm,’” the statement read.

Since then, Mr. Cabello, a former military captain, has played up his role as an invaluable link between Washington and the Venezuelan armed forces.

Mr. Cabello also exerts influence among numerous pro-government paramilitary groups. Since a brief show of force in the week following Mr. Maduro’s capture, these groups have largely stayed away from Venezuelan streets, a development some analysts attribute to Mr. Cabello’s instructions.

Mr. Cabello is attempting to extend his power by promoting his daughter, Daniella Cabello, as a ruling party candidate in future elections, according to several people close to the Venezuelan government. He and his allies have argued that Ms. Cabello, 30, the tourism minister, would fare better than the unpopular Ms. Rodríguez, these people said.

They discussed sensitive topics on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Cabello in June mounted perhaps his most ambitious effort to display his influence, the people said.

On Mr. Cabello’s orders, Venezuelan special forces units launched a raid in a remote mining area to eliminate a gang leader wanted by the United States, the people said.

The U.S. military was already working with other factions of Venezuela’s armed forces to locate the leader, known as Niño Guerrero, a commander of Tren de Aragua, a gang designated by the Trump administration as a terrorist group.

Mr. Trump had accused Mr. Maduro of working with Tren de Aragua to flood the United States with drugs and migrants. Niño Guerrero is a co-defendant in the same New York indictment targeting Mr. Maduro and Mr. Cabello.

Mr. Cabello’s raid appeared aimed at winning personal credit. But the raid failed, the people said. Niño Guerrero was instead killed by an American drone later that day.

Mr. Cabello’s future remains precarious even as he assumes a more prominent public role. He risks being arrested if Washington’s plans for Venezuela change.

Inside the triumvirate, Mr. Cabello has proved a valuable partner to Ms. Rodríguez and her brother. For now, a longtime ruling party rivalry between the siblings and Mr. Cabello has been set aside by a mutual desire to maintain power under American pressure. But that has not resulted in mutual trust, the people close to the government said.

Mariana Martínez contributed reporting from Caracas and John Bartlett from Santiago, Chile.