Venezuela leader urges US to lift all sanctions

CARACAS - Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez asked US President Donald Trump on March 13 to totally lift the sanctions imposed on her country, as the countries begin to restore diplomatic ties.

American officials are seeking greater access to Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth since a US military operation ousted leftist leader Nicolas Maduro on Jan 3.

The US Treasury began imposing sanctions in 2014 that have crippled Venezuela’s economy, which saw inflation soar to 475 per cent in 2025.

Its oil infrastructure has also suffered from years of under investment, with the country currently producing only a few million barrels per day despite having the world’s largest oil reserves.

But since January, the US has eased a seven-year-old oil embargo on Venezuela and issued licences allowing a handful of multinationals to operate in the country under certain conditions.

On March 13, the US also authorised imports of fertiliser from Venezuela, as the US-Israel war against Iran drives up prices of the key agricultural commodity.

“Unilateral coercive measures against the Venezuelan people also affect people across Latin America,” Ms Rodriguez said during a meeting with a Colombian delegation in Caracas.

“It affects the economy of Colombia, the economy of Venezuela, and our people,” she said.

The talks in Caracas aimed to mark a thaw in relations between the two South American neighbours, with Ms Rodriguez now pushing Colombian rebels back across the border.

The Trump administration has pressed both sides to tackle groups operating across the border like the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a leftist guerrilla group deeply involved in the drug trade.

“This is a problem we have as countries and we are determined to make progress together,” Ms Rodriguez said.

Her predecessor Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken by US forces to New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges. They have pleaded not guilty. AFP