The United States took a decisive step in its strategy on Venezuela by lifting personal sanctions against Delcy Rodríguez, the current interim president after the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro. The measure, made official by the Department of the Treasury, involves the removal of his name from the list of Specially Designated Nationals, where he had remained since 2018 for corruption and human rights violations
.The decision is part of the process of institutional reconfiguration promoted by Washington after the forced departure of Maduro in January 2026. In that context, the Donald Trump administration moved forward with a progressive negotiation scheme that combines political pressure with selective relief from sanctions.
Rodríguez welcomed the measure and defined it as a step towards normalizing bilateral relations. However, the scope of the uprising is limited: it is a matter of personal flexibility, while the general scheme of sanctions against the Venezuelan State and strategic sectors
remains in force.Since January, the U.S. Treasury issued multiple licenses that partially enabled activity in key sectors such as oil and mining, always under strict supervision. These concessions responded to a transactional logic: each reform promoted by the new Venezuelan government obtained
