IMF announces resumption of dealings with Venezuela after seven-year pause

Washington DC [US], April 17 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it is resuming its dealings with Venezuela, under its interim leadership, ending a suspension that had been in place for the past seven years due to government recognition issues.

In a statement issued on Thursday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the decision follows the views of IMF members representing a majority of the Fund's total voting power and is consistent with long-standing institutional practice.

The Fund said it is now engaging with the Government of Venezuela for the first time since March 2019, under the administration of acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

"Guided by the views of International Monetary Fund (IMF) members representing a majority of the IMF's total voting power, and consistent with long-standing practice, the Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva today announced that the IMF is now dealing with the Government of Venezuela, under the administration of acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Venezuela has been a member of the IMF since December 1946. Dealings with Venezuela had been paused in March 2019, due to government recognition issues," the statement read.

The move marks a significant shift in the IMF's approach to Venezuela, which has been largely cut off from formal Fund engagement in recent years due to political uncertainty and competing claims over leadership recognition.

Georgieva, in a post on X, welcomed the IMF's decision to resume dealings with Venezuela, describing it as an important step aimed at ultimately benefiting the Venezuelan people.

"I welcome the decision to resume IMF dealings with Venezuela. This important step, guided by the views of our members, allows the Fund to re-engage in a way that can ultimately benefit the Venezuelan people," her post read.

The move comes days after the US Department of the Treasury removed Rodriguez from its sanctions list.

According to an update posted on the Treasury Department's website, the name of the Venezuelan acting President has been removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.

The update was issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the Treasury Department.

The latest SDN List update shows that Delcy Rodriguez has been deleted from the sanctions list, effectively lifting previous US restrictions imposed on her.

The IMF cut off relations with Caracas in 2019 amid divisions within the international community over recognition of Venezuela's leadership, following disputed presidential elections between Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido. The bank noted that its last loan to Caracas was issued in 2005.

Rodriguez took over leadership of the South American country in January after US President Donald Trump launched a "large-scale strike" which led to the capture of its leader, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Maduro and Flores were flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement and were indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York.

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