US lifts sanctions on Venezuela National Assembly president

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 21:20 · Archive

The US Treasury Department has removed Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, from its sanctions list.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Wednesday that it has removed Jorge Rodríguez from its sanctions list. The delisting unblocks Rodríguez's property and interests in property under US jurisdiction and removes prohibitions on business dealings with him.

Rodríguez has served as president of Venezuela's National Assembly since 2021 and was reappointed in January. He had been under sanctions since September 2018 when he served as communications minister under Nicolás Maduro. At that time, OFAC sanctioned several senior Venezuelan officials, including his sister Delcy Rodríguez, citing their roles in helping Maduro 'maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule'.

OFAC did not publicly explain the reasons for removing Rodríguez from the sanctions list. However, the move comes amid shifting relations between Washington and Caracas. Washington has recently eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil and mining operations and lifted sanctions against acting President Delcy Rodríguez. Al Jazeera reports the decision is part of Washington's wider diplomatic recognition of Venezuela's interim government and Trump's three-phase plan for the country's political transition.

The delisting applies only to US jurisdiction. Sanctions imposed by other jurisdictions, including Canada and the European Union, remain in place. Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores continue to face drug trafficking charges and remain in custody in a New York prison.

How it is being reported

• US lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s top legislatorJorge Rodriguez has been removed from OFAC's sanctions list in latest US push for oil control and bilateral diplomacy.Al Jazeera · 14 Oct, 20:53
• U.S. lifts sanctions on Venezuela's National Assembly presidentThe U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it has lifted personal economic sanctions against Jorge Rodríguez.UPI · 14 Oct, 19:24

In this story: Jorge Rodríguez · Delcy Rodríguez · Nicolás Maduro · Venezuela · United States Treasury Department · Office of Foreign Assets Control

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem