The United States has lifted sanctions against acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, the US Treasury Department website reported.
Rodriguez called the decision an important step in normalising and strengthening relations between the countries. “We believe that this progress and determination will ultimately lead to the removal of the current sanctions on our country. This will enable rapid economic development, attract investment and build effective co-operation for the benefit of our peoples,” she wrote on the X network.
According to Reuters, President Donald Trump’s administration has been working closely with the interim government led by Rodriguez. In particular, earlier the US energy and interior ministers visited Caracas, where they concluded an agreement on the sale of Venezuelan oil by US companies.
In early March, Washington officially recognised Rodriguez as the leader of Venezuela and agreed with Caracas to resume diplomatic and consular relations. Trump said then that the parties had concluded a co-operation agreement to sell Venezuelan gold and other minerals.
The agency, citing sources, wrote that the Rodriguez administration is also preparing to take control of the positions of directors of PDVSA (Venezuelan state oil company) subsidiaries in the US, including Citgo Petroleum.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores were detained by the US military in Caracas on the night of 3 January 2026 and taken to the US. Maduro, his wife and four other individuals in the US are charged with four counts, including “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine.
US lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez