The United States has lifted sanctions on Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The move comes less than three months after US forces seized the country's previous leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife in a military raid in Caracas and took them to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
Rodríguez, a close ally of Maduro who served as his vice-president, had been placed on the sanctions list in 2018, with the US accusing her of undermining democracy.
She was sworn in as interim president by Venezuela's National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists, days after the US raid and has been described by Trump as a terrific person.
Rodríguez welcomed her removal from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. Those named on the list have their assets in the United States blocked and US nationals are barred from doing business with them.
In a post on X, Rodríguez called it a significant step in the right direction to normalize and strengthen relations between our countries.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the move showed the progress that had been made between our two countries to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela.
However, opposition activists in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, criticized the move, arguing that the US should exert pressure on Rodríguez to release all political prisoners still held in the country's jails. The release of political prisoners had been one of the key demands US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had made of Rodríguez in the wake of Maduro's removal.
While Rodríguez's regime has passed an amnesty law and freed some detainees, rights group Foro Penal reports that almost 500 political prisoners remain incarcerated.
The lifting of sanctions marks the latest sign of warming relations between the Trump administration and Rodríguez's team. This follows the recent official reopening of the US embassy in Caracas after seven years and the dispatch of a Venezuelan diplomatic team to reopen its embassy in Washington.
High-level US delegations have been traveling to Venezuela to discuss expanding access to the country's resources, but critics highlight the lack of discussions surrounding free and fair elections in the near future.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been living in exile, expressed optimism following her meeting with Secretary of State Rubio, emphasizing his dedication to democracy and the well-being of Venezuelans.
Rubio affirmed that the US is making progress in Venezuela, highlighting the transition phase ahead and the eventual need for elections, although no specific timeline has been indicated.
