U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday removed sanctions on Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, according to an entry on the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control website.

The move is a significant indication that Washington now treats Rodríguez as a legitimate authority in Venezuela. The U.S. has already formally recognized her as the country’s head of state in legal and diplomatic settings.

Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sanctions relief comes as the Trump administration has been dealing with Venezuela’s interim government since the U.S. military captured Rodríguez’s predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife on Jan. 3 in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

The two were sent to New York to answer drug trafficking charges, and both have pleaded not guilty.

Maduro remains Venezuela’s president under the law. In the hours after the Jan. 3 operation, the country’s ruling party-aligned high court described his absence as “temporary,” a decision that effectively removed the need for a rapid election and preserved the protections that international law affords the office.

The court instructed Rodríguez to serve for as long as 90 days, with the option of extending that period to six months if the National Assembly approves. The legislature is also controlled by the ruling party and led by her brother. The 90-day term expires Friday.