[1][2] Rodriguez was a central figure in the 2005 CIA interrogation videotapes destruction, leading to The New York Times editorial board and Human Rights Watch to call for his prosecution.

According to retired General Michael Hayden, "Jose built a reputation for leadership in the field and here at headquarters, and he guided some of the agency's greatest counterterror victories.

"[5] Much of his career was as an officer under the Directorate of Operations in the Latin America division, assigned to work in countries ranging from Peru to Belize.

[11] Like many officers in the Latin American Division, during the Iran–Contra affair, Rodriguez was questioned by the FBI about his role in the scandal after allegations of CIA involvement emerged.

[17] It was later revealed that the deputy to Kyle Foggo, then executive director of the CIA, wrote in an email that Rodriguez thought "the heat from destroying is nothing compared with what it would be if the tapes ever got into public domain—he said that out of context they would make us look terrible; it would be 'devastating' to us.

"[18] The tapes reportedly showed two men held in CIA custody, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri,[19] being subjected to a program of 'enhanced' interrogation techniques that included a procedure called waterboarding.

[20][21] Rodriguez's record has come under scrutiny after it was reported that the destruction of the videotapes was allegedly in defiance of orders from then–CIA director Porter Goss.

[23] Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA analyst familiar with Rodriguez and the tapes, commented in a December 23, 2007 Sunday Times story that "it looks increasingly as though the decision was made by the White House."

'"[25] Commentator Glenn Greenwald described the decision as just another in a long line of instances of the Obama White House granting legal immunity to Bush-era crimes.

[37] Rodriguez appeared in some press around the acquisition by IBM as part of the rationale for the big firm's purchase of NISC, with its specialization in the intelligence and defense communities.

[39] This effort, or the CIA's lead portion of it, concerns the capture of a number of the key operational leaders in Al Qaeda's global network.

As Time reported directly, "Rodriguez agrees that other events played a role in developing the intelligence on bin Laden's whereabouts.