April 2, 2026

The 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 stunning twist in Venezuela’s political saga, the United States has slammed the brakes on sanctions against interim president Delcy Rodríguez, just months after seizing the infamous Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a dramatic military raid in Caracas! Once blacklisted for wrecking democracy and slapped with asset freezes in 2018, Rodríguez—Maduro’s right hand and now the country’s top power broker—has been given a surprising lifeline by Washington, shaking up the fragile power dynamics as she steps out from the shadows of the SDN blacklist with a triumphant welcome.

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