United States lifts sanctions on Venezuela to aid earthquake rescue operations

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a four‑month waiver on economic sanctions against Venezuela, allowing transactions tied to earthquake relief until 23 October. The waiver follows twin quakes of magnitude 7.5 and 7.2 that killed at least 589 people in the country. International rescue teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, the United States and dozens of other nations have already arrived, with additional delegations from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, Qatar and Spain mobilising.

The United States had imposed strict sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 to pressure President Nicolás Maduro, whom Washington deems illegitimate. Relations have warmed after Maduro’s capture earlier this year and the U.S. now backs interim president Delcy Rodríguez. The temporary sanction relief aims to facilitate humanitarian aid and to support the development of Venezuela’s oil sector once the crisis subsides.