US lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s Central Bank and backs its return to the IMF
The move responds to persistent demands by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, whose individual sanctions OFAC had already lifted on April 1
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday lifted financial sanctions on Venezuela’s Central Bank and three other state-owned banking institutions, in the most significant easing of the punitive regime in place since 2017. On the same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly endorsed efforts by the International Monetary Fund to reintegrate Venezuela into the international financial system.
The IMF is working to bring Venezuela back and make it look like a normal economy, Bessent said during a forum at the Fund’s spring meetings in Washington. They are formally getting back on a good trajectory, he added.
Two general licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorize a broad range of financial operations with the Central Bank of Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, Banco Digital de los Trabajadores and Banco del Tesoro, as well as any entity in which these institutions hold a direct or indirect stake of 50% or more. Permitted operations include international transfers, foreign exchange, card services, deposits and payroll transactions.
The practical scope is considerable: correspondent banks, payment processors and remittance platforms based in the United States will for the first time in nearly a decade be able to serve Venezuelan institutions without violating sanctions. OFAC also removed Reinaldo Muñoz — Venezuela’s former attorney general and former vice president under Nicolás Maduro, who resigned as attorney general weeks ago — from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.
The move responds to persistent demands by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, whose individual sanctions OFAC had already lifted on April 1. According to Axios, the inability to operate in dollars through the Central Bank had forced Rodríguez to choose between printing money — risking inflation — or holding the line on public-sector wages until financial relief arrived. Public workers had protested in Caracas last month over salaries of roughly $160 per month, AP reported. Rodríguez pledged wage increases starting May 1.
The licenses, however, do not amount to a full lifting of sanctions. The document specifies that they do not authorize the unblocking of frozen assets, and any transaction not expressly covered remains prohibited absent specific authorization. Individual sanctions against officials designated for corruption or drug trafficking remain in force.
The easing is part of the broader normalization of relations between Washington and Caracas that began after Maduro’s capture in January. In recent weeks, OFAC granted expanded licenses for oil trade with PDVSA, authorized the sale of Venezuelan gold in the United States, and on Monday Chevron signed an agreement to expand production in the Orinoco Belt. Bessent also highlighted the World Bank’s role in unlocking resources and stability for the poorest countries.
