WASHINGTON— The United States Government lifted the sanctions imposed on the Venezuelan public banking system, including the Central Bank of Venezuela, as well as three other banking entities in the country.
The measure, announced by the Treasury Department, also includes the Bank of Venezuela, the Banco Digital de los Trabajadores and the Banco de Tesoro and comes less than two weeks after Washington removed the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, from the list of those sanctioned by the Office of Asset Control (OFAC).
Washington authorizes transactions and “financial services” with the central bank, as well as with the Universal Bank, the Workers’ Digital Bank and the Treasury Bank, according to license 57 of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OPFAC).
The hydrocarbons
By “financial services”, OFAC understands the opening of bank accounts, loans, fund transfers, remittances or currency exchange, among other operations.
The US Treasury Department’s sanctions are particularly harmful for banks and companies that want to use services that are very common in the international economy, such as accounts with access to credit cards.
The United States has accelerated the lifting of sanctions against Caracas since interim president Delcy Rodríguez took power following the capture and exfiltration of deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro from the country in January.
In exchange, the Rodríguez government has promoted significant changes in the hydrocarbon sector, the great objective of Donald Trump’s government.
The vast majority of OFAC general licenses regarding Venezuela in the last three months are linked to the opening of oil exploitation to foreign multinationals.
OFAC also announced that it is lifting the sanctions against Attorney General Reinaldo Muñoz, in force since September 2020.
