Rodriguez Asks Trump to Lift the Blockade and Sanctions on Venezuela

SadaNews - The acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez has requested that U.S. President Donald Trump lift the "blockade and sanctions" on her country, less than two months after the ousting and arrest of Nicolas Maduro during a U.S. military operation.

Since taking office in January, Rodriguez, who was the vice president, has transformed the relations between Caracas and Washington, which had been severed since 2019.

She has received the Charge d'Affaires of the United States in Venezuela, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the head of the U.S. military command for Latin America, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Rodriguez stated in a speech broadcast by state television, "Let the blockade and sanctions imposed on Venezuela be lifted now." She addressed Trump saying, "As friends and partners, let us open a new program of cooperation with the United States."

Venezuelan oil has been under an American embargo since 2019. In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department issued licenses allowing a few multinational companies to operate under certain conditions.

After Maduro's fall, Washington declared itself responsible for Venezuela, which holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world.

Under U.S. pressure, the government led by Rodriguez has notably reformed the oil sector and passed an amnesty law to release political prisoners.