The United States has lifted sanctions on Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez. The move comes less than three months after US forces seized the country's previous leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife in a military raid in Caracas and took them to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Rodríguez, a close ally of Maduro who served as his vice-president, had been placed on the sanctions list in 2018, with the US accusing her of undermining democracy. She was sworn in as interim president by Venezuela's National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists, days after the US raid and has been described by US President Donald Trump as 'a terrific person'. Rodríguez welcomed her removal from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. Those named on the list have their assets in the US blocked and US nationals are barred from doing business with them. Rodríguez called it 'a significant step in the right direction to normalise and strengthen relations between our countries' in a post on X. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly stated that the move demonstrated the progress made between the US and Venezuela to promote stability and advance political reconciliation. However, opposition activists in Caracas criticized the action, arguing that the US should pressure Rodríguez to release all political prisoners still held in Venezuela's jails. Despite the National Assembly's passage of an amnesty law, almost 500 political prisoners remain incarcerated according to prisoners' rights group Foro Penal. The lifting of sanctions marks the latest sign of warming relations between the Trump administration and Rodríguez's team, including the recent reopening of the US embassy in Caracas after a seven-year closure. Additionally, a Venezuelan diplomatic team has been sent to the US to reopen its embassy in Washington. As the situation evolves, Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the need for eventual free and fair elections in Venezuela, although no timeline has been provided.