US lifts sanctions on Venezuela acting president

This comes as the US warms to Caracas after kidnapping President Nicolas Maduro and forcing his government to comply

The US has removed the sanctions on interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The move was announced on Wednesday and marks a significant policy shift as Washington builds closer ties with Caracas after kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year.

US President Donald Trump previously warned Rodriguez that she could face an even higher price than Maduro if she did not comply with the administration’s conditions. However, he later changed his rhetoric and called relations with her “very good.” Trump said last month that the US  “formally recognized” the interim government.

In March, Reuters cited four people familiar with the matter as saying that the Trump administration was quietly building a legal case against Rodriguez. Federal prosecutors reportedly put together corruption and money laundering charges, and told the interim president that she was at risk of prosecution.

Rodriguez and other Maduro allies were sanctioned by the Treasury in 2018 following Maduro’s reelection, which the US and other countries said was rigged. At the time, Washington claimed that she helped Maduro maintain power.

The sanctions included freezing her assets in the US, banning American individuals and companies from conducting business with her, and blocking her access to the US financial system. Her international dealings and travel were also restricted, effectively isolating Rodriguez from global financial and economic networks.

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The removal of the sanctions comes three months after US forces abducted and imprisoned Maduro, who currently faces charges of narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking, and firearms offenses, which he denies.

Rodriguez initially declared that no “foreign agent” would control Venezuela, and demanded that Maduro and his wife be freed. However, she has since moved to align with the administration’s demands, including opening the country’s oil sector to American companies and cooperating on security.

As a result, Washington has imposed control over Venezuelan crude exports, with the proceeds deposited into restricted US Treasury-run accounts rather than going directly to the Venezuelan state. The country holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves – around one-fifth of the total.

Last month, Rodriguez agreed to sell around $100 million in physical gold to the US, with the proceeds similarly controlled by Washington. In January, she also agreed to free more than 400 detainees who the US considers political prisoners.