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The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced this Saturday that Venezuela received 300 million dollars following an "extraordinary sale" of the petroleum derivative fueloil.
He also assured that the money will be allocated to a newly created fund for "social protection," according to EFE's report on the announcement made on Venezuelan state television.
Rodríguez stated that the money will contribute to "an increase in workers' income."
Furthermore, he urged all sectors of Venezuela to unite in demanding that Trump lift all "illicit sanctions" permanently.
"President Trump, it is the sentiment of a people, but it is also a way for Latin America, which you have referred to, to move forward together with balanced, harmonious growth, where Venezuela can also contribute to regional development," he said.
Rodríguez recalled that his government established two sovereign funds that will receive money from "new investments in oil and gas."
One of the funds includes “social protection to improve the income of workers, health, nutrition, and housing, and another to address public services.”
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a license that allows American companies to exploit, transport, and trade Venezuelan oil, a sector that had previously been subject to Washington's sanctions.
The authorization represented a new step in the rapprochement between the administration of President Donald Trump and Rodríguez's government, which last week restored diplomatic relations after several years of rupture.
The license allows for operations related to the extraction, sale, transportation, and storage of Venezuelan oil and its derivatives, as long as the crude is imported into the United States by companies from that country.
The measure also authorizes transactions involving the Venezuelan government and the state oil company PDVSA, although it establishes several conditions.
Among them, that the contracts be governed by U.S. law and that any legal disputes be resolved in U.S. courts.
In an additional license, the Treasury Department clarified that operations involving Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or certain actors from China will not be permitted, nor will transactions with individuals sanctioned by Washington.
The decision comes after the Trump Administration gradually eased restrictions on the Venezuelan energy sector through licenses that allow foreign companies to participate in oil and energy projects under certain conditions.
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