US removes sanctions on Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez

US has exerted growing influence over the Venezuelan government after abducting former President Nicolas Maduro.The United States has lifted sanctions against Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, following its abduction and imprisonment of her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro.The US Department of the Treasury website was updated on Wednesday to show that Rodriguez had been removed from the Specially Designated Nationals List.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UN fact-finding mission warns of continued human rights abuses in Venezuelalist 2 of 3Venezuela’s Maduro set to again appear in US court: How strong is the case?list 3 of 3Venezuela’s ‘Chavismo’ movement faces a crossroads after US attackend of listThe move was seen as yet another sign of tightening relations between Rodriguez and US President Donald Trump, who has sought to exert control over Venezuela’s politics since Maduro’s removal.Rodriguez hailed Wednesday’s decision with a post calling for more sanctions against Venezuelan entities and individuals to be nixed.“President Trump’s decision is a significant step in the right direction to normalize and strengthen relations between our countries,” she wrote.“We trust that this progress and determination will ultimately lead to the lifting of the additional active sanctions on our country.”Rodriguez had been sanctioned under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since 2018, during Trump’s first term in office. The sanctions froze any assets she may have held in the US and prohibited any US-based entity from doing business with her.In a news release at the time, the US accused Rodriguez of being among a group of government leaders that were “involved in the destruction of democracy in Venezuela” and were “enriching themselves at the expense of the Venezuelan people”.At the time of the sanctions, Rodriguez had recently been appointed as vice president, a role she served in until January 3, when a US military operation abducted Maduro.Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also captured in the raid, currently await trial in the US on drug-trafficking and weapons possession charges.