The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on 1/4 that it removed Delcy Rodriguez, interim president of Venezuela, from its "sanctioned individuals list." This decision follows the reopening of the US Embassy in Caracas on 30/3, after being closed for 7 years.

Rodriguez promptly welcomed the move, stating on social media that it represents a step towards normalizing and strengthening bilateral relations with the US. She expressed confidence that this progress would facilitate the lifting of existing sanctions on Venezuela, enabling the establishment of a productive bilateral cooperation program for the mutual benefit of both nations.

Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas on 14/1. *Photo: AP*

Rodriguez served as vice president under President Nicolas Maduro and faced sanctions from Washington as a key government official. She assumed the interim presidency after a US operation in Caracas resulted in the arrest of President Maduro and his wife.

Maduro and his wife have been held at the Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, a US federal prison. During their initial hearing in New York on 5/1, they faced drug-related charges, to which both pleaded not guilty. Maduro asserted his status as a "prisoner of war."

(AFP, Reuters, AP)