US lifts sanctions on Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodríguez

2 hours agoVanessa BuschschlüterLatin America editor, News OnlineREUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaThe 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 from them.In a post on X, Rodríguez called it "a significant step in the right direction to normalise 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"."As President Trump has said, Delcy Rodríguez is doing a great job and is working with the United States very well," Kelly added. 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. And while the National Assembly has passed an amnesty law and hundreds of detainees have been freed, prisoners' rights group Foro Penal says that almost 500 political prisoners remain behind bars. Earlier this week, the US officially reopened its embassy in Caracas, seven years after closing it. A Venezuelan diplomatic team has also been dispatched to the US to reopen its embassy in Washington.Critics of Rodríguez however have bemoaned the fact that there has been little talk of democratic elections.Despite having been sidelined by Trump in favour of Rodríguez, Machado struck an optimistic note, calling the meeting "excellent" and praising the secretary of state's "dedication to democracy, freedom and Venezuelans' well-being".Speaking to Fox News after the meeting, Rubio insisted that the US was making progress in Venezuela.Pointing to the three-prong plan he said the US was pursuing, he assured viewers that Venezuela had moved into the second phase: that of recovery."Ultimately, there will have to be a transition phase. There will have to be free and fair elections in Venezuela, and that point has to come," he said. "It's not forever, but we have to be patient, but we also can't be complacent," he said without giving an indication as to when elections could be held in Venezuela.