Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in a visit to Miraflores Palace by the US Sub-secretary for Hydrocarbons Kyle Haustveit. Photo: El Informador.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s message came after the Donald Trump administration lifted restrictions against the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV).
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, called on the United States to put an end to its illegal sanctionson Venezuela and urged greater “maturity” from both countries in order to advance toward stable energy and economic cooperation.
“We insist to President Donald Trump that sanctions must cease so that investments can fully develop,” Acting President Rodríguez said during a working meeting with a delegation from the US Department of Energy led by US hydrocarbon and geothermal energy subsecretary Kyle Haustveit.
She stated that temporary licenses issued by Washington do not provide the legal certainty required for long-term investment: “A license does not offer legal security over time because it is subject to temporality.”
Partial easing of restrictions
Rodríguez’s remarks followed the issuance of two licenses by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including License 57, which lifts several restrictions imposed on the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) since 2019.
Another license authorizes “contingent” commercial negotiations with private actors, although still subject to multiple controls.
Rodríguez reiterated that such measures fall short of guaranteeing the stability needed by investors, echoing statements she made on March 24 during a meeting with national and international business representatives.
Call for long-term cooperation
During the meeting, which was also attended by US Chargé D’affaires Laura Dogu, Rodríguez emphasized the need to move toward a long-term framework for cooperation.
“I believe both the United States and Venezuela have sufficient maturity to establish energy, economic, and cooperation relations within the framework of our respective laws,” she said.
She added that global energy market conditions are complex and that “a Venezuela without sanctions would undoubtedly have been able to achieve better cooperation.”
“Let us think about the future and how to build a long-term energy relationship,” she concluded, welcoming participation from independent energy companies.
Repeated calls to end sanctions
Rodríguez has repeatedly urged Washington to lift sanctions imposed since 2015, arguing that their removal would provide institutional legal certainty and encourage sustained investment.
On April 1, she described a recent decision by the US government to remove her from its sanctions list as “a step in the direction of normalizing and strengthening relations,” expressing hope it would lead to the broader lifting of measures against Venezuela.
“Advancing toward a Venezuela without sanctions is essential,” Rodríguez said, framing the issue as key to building a stable, long-term economic future.
(DiarioVEA) by Yuleidys Hernández Toledos
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
