The United States lifts sanctions on the Venezuelan Central Bank

The US Treasury Department announced the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Central Bank of Venezuela, in addition to three other banking institutions in the country.

The Treasury Department explained in a statement that the central bank and three other Venezuelan banks are now authorized to provide a range of “financial services,” such as managing bank accounts, issuing cards, transferring money, and foreign exchange operations to Venezuelans in the United States.

The lifting of some economic sanctions on Venezuela comes within the framework of a gradual process of normalization of relations between Caracas and Washington after the US State Department announced in March the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were severed since 2019.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department website indicated that the United States had lifted the sanctions imposed on Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president of Venezuela, less than three months after US forces arrested then Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital, Caracas.

Since the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a US blitz in Caracas in January, the Donald Trump administration has been working closely with Rodriguez to mobilize foreign investment in the country’s oil sector.

At the end of March, the United States announced the resumption of operations at its embassy in Venezuela.

Before that, the US government removed the obstacles that hindered the work of Venezuelan diplomatic missions in the United States.