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Venezuela’s interim government is pushing the US to lift all economic sanctions, calling the partial relief the US has offered so far insufficient.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: After the fall of Nicolas Maduro (who was grabbed by the US military back in January), the US began easing sanctions on Venezuela as part of a broader effort to open the country to foreign investment. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president shortly after and has been playing ball with what Trump wants. Her cooperation has led the US to ease some sanctions in waves.
What’s going on now: Rodriguez has called on the US to lift all remaining sanctions, arguing that the current system of limited licenses (which allow certain transactions but are temporary and come with restrictions) doesn’t provide the long-term legal certainty that foreign investors need. Her call came after the US Treasury Department issued new licenses allowing Venezuela’s central bank and several state-owned financial institutions, including Banco de Venezuela, Banco del Tesoro, and Banco Digital de los Trabajadores, to reenter global finance and conduct transactions in US dollars.
A separate license was issued permitting certain commercial negotiations with the Venezuelan government, though final approval still requires US sign-off.
In a statement, Delcy said, “We reiterate the need to advance towards a Venezuela free of sanctions, as a means of providing institutional legal certainty to investors coming to our country — a setting where they are guaranteed sustained investment over time and a forward-looking perspective.”
The move comes as Rodriguez’s government faces pressure at home, with public sector workers staging protests in Caracas demanding higher wages (many earning around $160 a month).
