The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, at the opening ceremony of the judicial year at the Supreme Court of Justice headquarters in Caracas on January 30, 2026.
Credit: Efrain Gonzalez/Venezuelan Presidency/AFP
The American government lifted sanctions on Wednesday, April 1st, against the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, marking a new step in the normalization of relations between the two countries. Washington removed the leader from its blacklist through a publication on the government service website responsible for economic sanctions (Ofac).
Almost three months ago to the day, the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro during a military operation in Caracas, who has since been ousted. Since then, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has assumed the interim presidency and has made numerous concessions and gestures of appeasement towards Americans, while Donald Trump claims that he effectively now runs the country from Washington.
He notably intends to have a say in the exploitation of the country’s vast oil reserves. Ofac, under the US Department of the Treasury, gradually lifts the embargo imposed in 2019 on the country’s black gold.
On Monday, the United States announced the resumption of operations at their embassy in Venezuela, seven years after its closure. Washington’s sanctions involved freezing any assets that Delcy Rodriguez may hold in the country and prohibiting American companies and citizens from trading with her.
