Venezuela’s Rodriguez signs oil reform law while the US eases sanctions

The Trump administration has pressured Venezuela to increase foreign access to the country’s large oil reserves.Published On 30 Jan 2026Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez has signed into law a reform bill that will pave the way for increased privatisation in the South American country’s nationalised oil sector, fulfilling a key demand from her United States counterpart, Donald Trump.On Thursday, Rodriguez held a signing ceremony with a group of state oil workers. She hailed the reform as a positive step for Venezuela’s economy.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump says that he will allow reopening of Venezuelan airspacelist 2 of 3Rubio says Maduro abduction ‘strategic’ necessity, downplays future attackslist 3 of 3Venezuela’s police, military pledge loyalty to interim President Rodriguezend of list“We’re talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children,” Rodriguez said.The ceremony came within hours of the National Assembly – dominated by members of Rodriguez’s United Socialist Party – passing the reform.“Only good things will come after the suffering,” said Jorge Rodriguez, the assembly’s head and brother of the interim president.Since the US military’s abduction of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3, the Trump administration has sought to pressure President Rodriguez to open the country’s oil sector to outside investment.Trump has even warned that Rodriguez could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro”, should she fail to comply with his demands.Thursday’s legislation will give private firms control over the sale and production of Venezuelan oil.It would also require legal disputes to be resolved outside of Venezuelan courts, a change long sought by foreign companies, who argue that the judicial system in the country is dominated by the ruling socialist party.