The American government has suspended economic sanctions targeting Venezuela for four months, so as not to hinder relief operations in the country hit by a double deadly earthquake.
• Also read: LIVE | Double earthquake in Venezuela: the death toll rises to 589 and more than 2,900 injured
• Also read: The United States sends aid to Venezuela: “We are trying to restore the image of America which had been tarnished”
• Also read: “It was terrifying”: a Montrealer escapes the catastrophe in Venezuela
“All transactions related to earthquake relief operations in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited” by US sanctions “are permitted” until October 23, according to a license released Thursday evening by the Treasury Department, which manages these sanctions.
The magnitude 7.5 and 7.2 earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday left at least 589 dead, according to a latest report from the authorities in Caracas.
International aid has begun to flow into the country of nearly 30 million inhabitants whose economy has been in crisis for years.
Teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States have already arrived in Venezuela, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Others from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, Qatar and Spain in particular are being mobilized, according to the same source.
Washington had gripped Venezuela in a heavy vise of economic sanctions, particularly from 2019, with the aim of making the situation untenable for left-wing populist President Nicolas Maduro, deemed “illegitimate” by the United States.
Since Donald Trump captured Mr. Maduro in early January, relations with Caracas have warmed significantly. The American executive strongly supports interim President Delcy Rodriguez and is gradually lifting its sanctions, in particular to develop the exploitation of Venezuela’s immense oil resources.
