Washington DC - The US government has lifted a number of economic sanctions against Venezuela for four months to facilitate relief operations following a pair of deadly earthquakes that jolted the country.
"All transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela...are authorized" until October 23, according to a license issued Thursday evening by the US Treasury.
The 7.5- and 7.2-magnitude earthquakes on Wednesday killed at least 589 people, with the toll continuing to rise.
International aid has begun flowing into the country, home to nearly 30 million people whose economy has been in crisis for years.
Teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and the US have already arrived, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Additional teams from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, Qatar, and Spain are being deployed.
Washington had imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Venezuela, particularly from 2019 onward, in an effort to squeeze the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US considered illegitimate.
Since US forces toppled Maduro in January, ties with Caracas have warmed considerably.
The Trump administration has thrown its support behind interim President Delcy Rodriguez and has gradually eased sanctions, particularly to facilitate the development of Venezuela's vast oil reserves.