The US Treasury issued a decision to lift sanctions that were imposed on the Central Bank of Venezuela, in addition to three other banks operating inside the country.
In an official statement, the Treasury Department explained that this decision allows the Central Bank and three other Venezuelan banks to provide a variety of “financial services” to Venezuelan citizens residing in the United States. These services include managing bank accounts, issuing cards, making money transfers, and conducting foreign exchange operations.
This measure is part of a gradual path to normalize relations between Caracas and Washington, following the US State Department’s announcement in March of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which had been suspended since 2019.
At the beginning of this month, the US Treasury Department website reported that the United States had lifted the sanctions imposed on Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president of Venezuela, shortly after US forces arrested the then Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, in an operation inside the capital, Caracas.
Since the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a swift US operation in Caracas in January, the Donald Trump administration has been working closely with Rodriguez to attract foreign investment into the country’s oil sector.
At the end of March, the United States announced the reopening of its embassy in Venezuela and the resumption of operations there.
Before that, the US government removed restrictions that hindered the work of Venezuelan diplomatic missions located in the United States.
