US lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s Jorge Rodríguez, loosening pressure on senior Maduro ally
The US Treasury has removed Venezuelan National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez from its sanctions list, lifting economic restrictions on a key figure in Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle and brother of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, in a move that signals another adjustment to Washington’s pressure campaign on Caracas.
The United States has lifted economic sanctions on Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and a central ally of President Nicolás Maduro, softening one line of pressure on the ruling circle in Caracas.
Spanish-language alerts citing the US Treasury Department say Rodríguez has been taken off the list of sanctioned individuals, removing asset freezes and transaction bans that had applied to him. Alongside his formal role in the legislature, Jorge Rodríguez is the brother of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, placing this decision close to the core of the governing elite.
Treasury has not released a detailed explanation of the timing or the reasons for the delisting. There is also no indication in the available reports that broader US sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry or on other officials have been dismantled. Still, easing measures on one of Maduro’s main political operators suggests Washington is adjusting how it uses targeted economic tools against figures linked to the government.
For most Venezuelans, ending sanctions on a single official doesn’t directly change daily problems such as inflation, shortages, or unreliable services. It does, however, affect the political space in which negotiations and back-channel contacts occur. Jorge Rodríguez has often acted as a negotiator in talks with opposition representatives and foreign governments. Without US sanctions, he faces fewer legal and financial obstacles if he travels, handles funds, or takes on a more visible role as an interlocutor.
The delisting comes as Caracas confronts renewed legal trouble for other insiders. Separate reporting describes new charges against former oil minister Tareck El Aissami, a once-powerful chavista figure who fell in a 2023 corruption purge at state oil company PDVSA. In that context, lifting sanctions on Rodríguez while prosecutors move again against El Aissami underlines the mix of internal discipline and external bargaining that now surrounds Venezuela’s leadership.
For US policymakers, adjusting individual sanctions provides a way to influence talks with Maduro’s team over political prisoners, election conditions, oil exports, and migration. Previous episodes have shown that limited sanctions relief can be used as an incentive for participation in negotiations or for meeting specific commitments, even when the overall political confrontation remains unresolved.
International energy players will watch whether this move leads to broader steps that might affect Venezuelan crude exports. The country’s reserves remain largely underused because of mismanagement, underinvestment, and existing sanctions. While taking Jorge Rodríguez off the list doesn’t itself open new oil flows, it could ease political sensitivities around technical or commercial contacts that touch his office.
For the Venezuelan opposition and diaspora, the decision is likely to be divisive. Some will read it as a practical step that could help extract concessions from Maduro by empowering a known negotiator. Others may see it as unwarranted relief for a figure they link to the erosion of democratic institutions.
Key signs to track now include any official US statement spelling out what Washington expects from Caracas, changes in Jorge Rodríguez’s public role in talks or foreign outreach, and how the Maduro government reacts on issues such as the electoral calendar, political prisoners, or cooperation with foreign investors. Those responses will indicate whether this sanctions relief marks the start of a broader transactional phase or just a limited adjustment in a long-running standoff.
Sources
- OSINT