US lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s interim president

The United States on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, according to the US Treasury Department’s website. The move comes less than three months after US forces captured the country’s then president, Nicolás Maduro, in a raid on the capital.

President Donald Trump’s administration has established contacts with the interim government led by Rodríguez, a former vice-president under Maduro. This includes an agreement to sell Venezuelan oil to the United States, as well as exemptions from sanctions intended to encourage American investment.

US forces detained Maduro on 3 January after months of heightened tensions between the two countries, triggering a series of political changes in Venezuela. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are now on trial in New York on drug trafficking charges.

(reuters, luc)