Move extends US-Venezuela rapprochement since Maduro’s January capture

Rodríguez had been under U.S. sanctions since September 2018, when he served as communications minister under Maduro, according to Venezuelan news outlet Efecto Cocuyo. At the time, OFAC imposed individual sanctions on several senior Venezuelan officials, including his sister Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores, and Vladimir Padrino López, a former defense minister who now serves as agriculture minister.

The 2018 designations were issued under Executive Order 13692 against officials who, according to Washington, helped Maduro “maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule.” Rodríguez now serves as president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and is a key political ally of his sister, who serves as acting president.

Treasury did not publicly explain its reasons for removing Rodríguez from the sanctions list Wednesday. The decision comes as bilateral relations have evolved, with Washington easing sanctions affecting Venezuela’s oil and mining operations and previously lifting sanctions against acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

OFAC’s decision applies only to U.S. jurisdiction. Any immigration or financial sanctions imposed by other jurisdictions, including Canada and the European Union, are not automatically lifted.

The rapprochement between Washington and Caracas has deepened since Maduro’s capture in January. As bilateral relations have evolved, Washington has eased sanctions affecting Venezuela’s oil and mining operations and lifted sanctions against acting President Delcy Rodríguez, while Maduro and Flores continue to face prosecution in U.S. federal court.

Maduro and Flores remain in custody in a New York prison awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein scheduled another hearing for Thursday in New York, where the ousted Venezuelan president and his wife are expected to respond to additional charges filed by federal prosecutors last week, according to news channel NTV24.

A new indictment filed last Thursday alleges that Maduro and Flores participated in a system of repression that prosecutors say was designed to “undermine Venezuelan democracy and entrench themselves in power” through violence against political opponents, arbitrary detentions and torture of detainees, including U.S. citizens.