U.S. lifts sanctions on Venezuela's acting president amid warming ties
by Darryl Coote · UPIApril 2 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, in the latest sign of warming relations between Washington and Caracas after the U.S. military ousted Venezuela's former authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro.
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced in a post on its website Wednesday that Rodriguez, 56, had been removed from its Specially Designated Nationals list, unfreezing any assets that may have been under her name in the United States while allowing her to conduct business in the United States and with U.S. persons.
Rodriguez, Venezuelan first lady Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro and two other close associates of the former president were blacklisted by the United States in September 2018, amid the first Trump administration's effort to remove Maduro following his re-election that year in what was widely deemed an illegitimate contest.
"We welcome President Donald Trump's decision as a step toward normalizing and strengthening relations between our countries," Rodriguez said in a statement on Telegram.
"We trust that this progress will make it possible to lift the sanctions currently in place against our country, and to build and guarantee an effective bilateral cooperation agenda for the benefit of our peoples.
"Let us keep moving forward in building a prosperous Venezuela for all!" she said.
Rodriguez was named interim president of Venezuela after the U.S. military seized Maduro and his wife in a clandestine January operation. The former president is facing narcoterrorism charges in Manhattan.
The sanctions were lifted as President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez for cooperating with the United States following Maduro's removal.
Earlier this month, Trump said she was "doing a great job" and celebrated "the professionalism and dedication between both countries" as they worked together on energy deals.
During his address to the nation Wednesday night, Trump said the United States and Venezuela were "joint-venture partners," in comments that appeared to suggest he sees Caracas as an example of the kind of relationship Washington could have with Tehran once the war is over.
"We're working along with Venezuela," he said.
"We're getting along incredibly well in the production and sale of massive amounts of oil and gas."