The U.S. has lifted sanctions against Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, according to an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) action notice on the U.S. Department of the Treasury website.
Her removal from the Treasury Department’s OFAC sanctions list ends prohibitions that prevent U.S. companies and investors from doing business with Rodriguez, at the risk of civil or criminal consequences.
"We value President Donald Trump's decision as a step toward normalizing and strengthening relations between our countries," Rodriguez said on her Telegram channel following the Treasury's announcement. "We trust that this progress will allow for the lifting of current sanctions against our country, enabling us to build and guarantee an effective bilateral cooperation agenda for the benefit of our people."
The U.S. government’s sanctions relief on Rodriguez is the most recent recognition of Rodriguez as a legitimate authority in the South American country since the U.S. military’s operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Venezuela's capital, Caracas.
“This decision reflects progress in the joint efforts between our two countries to promote stability, support economic recovery and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president, and her brother Jorge Rodriguez were originally sanctioned during President Donald Trump’s first term, in Sept. 2018, for allegedly undermining Venezuelan democracy.
"Maduro has given Delcy Eloina Rodríguez Gomez and Jorge Jesus Rodríguez Gomez senior positions within the Venezuelan government to help him maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule," the Treasury declared after Maduro won re-election in a contest where opposition politicians and parties were prohibited from participating.
“U.S. officials have said that they are implementing a three-part plan for Venezuela that focuses on stabilizing the economy and securing access for American companies to vast energy and mineral resources before working toward a democratic transition,” The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.
