The U.S. has lifted sanctions against a close ally of Maduro in Venezuela

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has decided to lift sanctions against Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is part of Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle.

In Washington, this move is seen as the first sign of a possible policy shift toward Venezuela after years of isolation.

This was reported with reference to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a division of the U.S. Treasury Department.

According to the decision, Delcy Rodríguez’s name has been removed from the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN), which imposes restrictions on financial transactions and access to assets within U.S. jurisdiction.

As noted by The New York Times, this is the first time the Donald Trump administration has lifted sanctions against representatives of the Venezuelan government and Maduro’s inner circle, which were imposed following the 2018 elections.

The international community deemed those elections illegitimate due to allegations of fraud. After Maduro’s victory was announced, Delcy Rodríguez was appointed vice president of the country.

Previously, the U.S. government had imposed sanctions against Rodríguez and her brother Jorge, as well as other high-ranking Venezuelan officials, accusing them of undermining democratic institutions.

At the same time, according to Western media reports, Rodríguez has recently played a key role in the gradual liberalization of Venezuela’s economy and the opening of the country to foreign investment, particularly from the United States. Despite this, the country’s political system remains unchanged, and Maduro’s government retains control of power.

Venezuela permanently refuses to be a colony of any empire.

Venezuela has taken a step toward the release of political prisoners.

The United States and Venezuela are negotiating the resumption of oil exports.