The United States Department of the Treasury has lifted sanctions on Jorge Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly and brother of the country's interim President, Delcy Rodriguez.
The delisting notice was posted on the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website on Wednesday, officially removing Jorge Rodriguez's name from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) blacklist.
Jorge Rodriguez has held the position of National Assembly president since 2021. He was reappointed in January, weeks after the removal of former President Nicolas Maduro by the US government. He previously served as vice president under Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez.
Jorge and Delcy Rodriguez had been sanctioned during Trump's first administration due to their ministerial roles under Maduro, who now faces several federal charges, including a superseding indictment adding torture to his other alleged crimes.
In 2018, the State Department said Jorge Rodriguez was given prominent government positions by Maduro "to help him maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule."
According to a source familiar with the matter, the decision to lift sanctions on Jorge Rodriguez is part of Washington's wider diplomatic recognition of the interim Venezuelan government and Trump's three-phase plan for Venezuela's stabilisation and political transition.
During a State Department press briefing on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the next round of negotiations on Venezuela's future was scheduled to begin on Wednesday. He also urged all Venezuelan opposition factions to join US-backed political talks with the interim president.
Earlier this year, the Treasury dropped sanctions against Delcy Rodriguez and later lifted restrictions on Venezuela's central bank and its state-owned national airline, signalling a shift from economic pressure to diplomatic engagement. She has largely complied with Trump's demands for Caracas to open its energy industry to American companies.
As interim president, Delcy Rodriguez has promised to hold elections, including in recent remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, but no firm date has been set. Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has demanded they take place by July.
Jorge Rodriguez has shepherded several major reforms through the ruling party-controlled legislature since his sister took power, including a law facilitating the entry of foreign oil companies, a similar measure for the mining sector, and legislation aimed at allowing private investment in the country's power grid.
Since Maduro's removal, Caracas and Washington have reached a deal giving the US access to 17 Venezuelan oil fields, while international energy firms have separately committed to expanding projects in the country. In August, Trump announced a plan to secure direct US access to a large share of Venezuela's oil reserves in order to refill the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
