US allows Venezuelan banks to operate in dollars for the first time in years

The administration of Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a relaxation of financial sanctions against the Venezuelan state-owned banking system in an attempt to ease economic pressure on the country.

The measure, executed through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), will allow institutions such as the Central Bank of Venezuela and other public banks to resume dollar operations and rejoin the international financial system, according to Axios reports.

"This action supports the goal of revitalizing the Venezuelan economy by reintegrating it into the U.S.-led global financial system," said a U.S. official quoted by Axios.

The move could represent a turning point

The partial lifting of sanctions will allow Venezuela to directly access oil export revenues and reactivate financial operations blocked for years The measure seeks to unlock billions of dollars that had been held up by regulatory restrictions.

In addition to the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), the decision reaches entities such as the Bank of Venezuela and the Treasury Bank, facilitating commercial transactions and agreements with international companies.

Experts point out that this easing could represent a turning point. Venezuelan economist Alejandro Grisanti warned, a few days ago via X, that sanctioning the BCV was equivalent, in practice, to isolating the entire Venezuelan financial system.

The measure taken today would allow the country's financial system to reestablish relations with international banks and give greater stability to the foreign exchange market.

Social pressure and political calculation

The decision also responds to growing internal tensions. In recent weeks, public workers have taken to the streets to demand wage increases in a context where state salaries hover around $160 per month, below those in the private sector.

Delcy Rodriguez, president of the interim regime, had warned about the difficulty of increasing salaries without access to foreign currency: printing money would imply reactivating hyperinflation, one of the country's main economic ghosts.

"He was between a rock and a hard place," acknowledgeda U.S. official about the situation of the interim regime, in the Axios report.

Progressive normalization after Maduro's ouster.

The easing is part of a broader process of rapprochement between Washington and Caracas following the departure of Nicolas Maduro in January.

In recent months, the United States has authorized new operations with the state oil company PDVSA, facilitated gold exports and removed individual sanctions, including those imposed on Rodriguez herself.

However, the strategy does not imply a total lifting of sanctions but a selective licensing scheme that allows a certain margin of economic maneuver without losing political pressure capacity.