US lifts sanctions on Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly

The change removes Jorge Rodríguez from the US Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list. That means the specific sanctions attached to his listing no longer apply. The Treasury did not explain why it made the decision. The move matters because it changes Rodríguez’s official financial and travel status in relation to the United States.

While listed, Rodríguez faced blocked assets in the United States, a ban on entering the country, and a prohibition on transactions with US citizens and companies. Removing him lifts those listed restrictions. His sister, Delcy Rodríguez, was removed in April, allowing her to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly and meet President Donald Trump.

The decision comes as the Rodríguez government negotiates with Washington over oil and legal changes opening energy and mining to foreign companies. It may signal a more practical relationship, but the article gives no official explanation or promise of further sanctions changes. Presidential elections still have no date.

The Specially Designated Nationals list is maintained by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. It identifies people and entities subject to US sanctions. The core idea is to pressure a person without necessarily using military force. The article specifically describes the consequences of Jorge Rodríguez’s listing.

Being listed entails blocking assets in the United States. It also brings a ban on entering the country and prohibits transactions with US citizens and companies. In practice, those rules can sharply limit access to US money, businesses, and travel. Rodríguez had been listed since September 2018, along with several senior Venezuelan officials.

The United States removed Rodríguez from the list without explaining why. His sister, Delcy Rodríguez, had already been removed in April. The article links the changes to a period of negotiation over oil, energy, and mining, but it does not establish that sanctions relief was formally exchanged for those steps.

The article describes Venezuela’s reserves as the largest in the world. It says the oil agreement announced in August gives the United States majority control over a fifth of those reserves. The source does not provide a total barrel figure, but it presents the controlled share as a major strategic asset.

Control over a fifth matters because oil reserves are a long-term source of production, revenue, and influence. Majority control can give a company or government greater authority over investment and operations. The article also reports legal changes pushed by the Rodríguez siblings to open the energy and mining sectors to foreign companies. Those changes could make the reserves more accessible to outside investors.

The arrangement is still part of an evolving relationship. Washington and the Rodríguez government have negotiated the oil deal, while presidential elections remain undated. The article does not specify which foreign companies will participate or how the agreement will operate in practice.

Jorge Rodríguez was designated in September 2018, when he held a senior role in Nicolás Maduro’s government. The Treasury said Maduro had given Rodríguez and other officials “high-ranking positions” to help him “remain in power.” The sanction therefore targeted Rodríguez as part of the political structure supporting Maduro.

The 2018 designation included Rodríguez’s sister, former first lady Cilia Flores, and then defence minister Vladimir Padrino. Rodríguez later became president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, a position he has held since 2021. His parliamentary leadership kept him central to Venezuela’s governing system and political negotiations.

The United States has now removed Rodríguez from the sanctions list, but the article gives no reason. The change follows Delcy Rodríguez’s removal in April and negotiations involving oil, energy, and mining. It does not say that the 2018 accusations were withdrawn or resolved, and presidential elections still have no announced date.

Jorge Rodríguez is the sanctioned Venezuelan official whose listing was removed. Delcy Rodríguez, his sister, is the acting president and was removed from the list in April. Nicolás Maduro is the former leader whom Treasury accused of using senior appointments to stay in power. Cilia Flores and Vladimir Padrino were also named in the 2018 sanctions.

On the US side, the Treasury Department made the sanctions decision. President Donald Trump met Delcy Rodríguez in New York after she traveled to the UN General Assembly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later met Dinorah Figuera, head of the opposition delegation, in Washington. The Rodríguez siblings also pushed legal changes affecting foreign energy and mining investment.

The talks remain unsettled. Figuera’s opposition delegation is negotiating with the Venezuelan government, but opposition leader María Corina Machado is not participating. She cannot return to Venezuela. Presidential elections have not been scheduled, and Rubio’s meeting produced no announcements.

For Jorge Rodríguez, removal from the list can restore access to transactions with US citizens and companies, unblock covered US assets, and remove the US entry ban. These are direct practical changes. The article does not say whether Rodríguez has US assets or plans to travel. It also does not state that other sanctions will be lifted.

For Venezuela’s energy sector, the timing is notable. Washington and the Rodríguez government have an oil agreement announced in August. El País reported that it gives the United States majority control over a fifth of Venezuela’s reserves. Reuters reported that the Rodríguez siblings pushed legal changes opening energy and mining to foreign companies.

These steps could deepen commercial ties and give foreign companies a larger role. They could also make US-Venezuela relations more cooperative. However, the Treasury gave no reason for the removal, elections have no date, and the dialogue has produced no announcements. The political direction remains uncertain.

Economic sanctions are foreign-policy tools that impose costs without direct military action. A government can freeze assets, restrict travel, or bar business with designated people. The aim is often to pressure officials, change conduct, or signal disapproval. In this case, the Treasury designated Rodríguez while accusing Maduro’s government of using senior positions to remain in power.

The article identifies three effects: US assets are blocked, entry to the United States is prohibited, and transactions with US citizens and companies are banned. The United States can impose those rules on its own territory and on people or businesses under US jurisdiction. Foreign companies can also face practical pressure when a deal involves US banks, companies, or assets.

Removing Rodríguez shows how sanctions can also be adjusted as policy changes. The article does not explain the decision, but it comes during oil negotiations and energy-sector opening. Sanctions relief may support engagement, yet the unresolved election timetable and opposition tensions remain important limits.