The United States has removed Jorge Rodr\u00edguez, president of Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly and brother of interim president Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The Treasury Department announced the decision on Wednesday, lifting financial restrictions that previously barred Rodr\u00edguez from holding assets, conducting transactions, or entering the U.S.<\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s removal follows a broader thaw in U.S.-Venezuela relations, triggered by the January detention of former president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who now face U.S. charges of drug trafficking, torture, and repression. Since then, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez has led negotiations with Washington, including a landmark agreement granting the U.S. majority control over one-fifth of Venezuela\u2019s vast oil reserves\u2014the world\u2019s largest, estimated at 300 billion barrels. The deal, announced last August, signals a shift toward greater foreign involvement in Venezuela\u2019s energy sector.<\/p>\n
The Treasury\u2019s move aligns with earlier sanctions relief for Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, who was removed from the SDN list in April. Both siblings had been designated in 2018 as part of Washington\u2019s efforts to target Maduro\u2019s inner circle. The sanctions freeze included financial assets, real estate, and prohibited U.S. citizens or companies from engaging in transactions with them.<\/p>\n
With Rodr\u00edguez now off the blacklist, legal barriers to foreign investment in Venezuela\u2019s oil industry are expected to ease further. Reuters reported that Delcy and Jorge Rodr\u00edguez are preparing to amend Venezuelan law to facilitate greater foreign participation\u2014a development that could directly benefit U.S. energy firms and investors. The shift also allows Rodr\u00edguez to travel freely, including his September visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, where he met privately with President Trump to discuss the d\u00e9tente.<\/p>\n
The sanctions relief reflects a strategic recalibration by the Trump administration, prioritising economic engagement over isolationist policies. For U.S. businesses, the change opens new avenues in Venezuela\u2019s oil sector, though risks\u2014including political instability and regulatory uncertainty\u2014remain. The move also underscores the growing influence of Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, who has positioned herself as the architect of Venezuela\u2019s diplomatic and economic realignment with Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jorge Rodr\u00edguez removed from US blacklist after Maduro\u2019s detention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}