U.S. ‍Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told Reuters that additional U.S. sanctions on Venezuela could be lifted as soon as next week to facilitate ​oil sales, and that he will also meet next week with the heads of the International ‌Monetary Fund and World Bank on their re-engagement with Venezuela. Editorial | ​Fearing de-dollarisation: On the U.S., oil and the petrodollar“We’re de-sanctioning the oil that’s going to be sold,” Mr. Bessent said during a visit to a Winnebago Industries engineering facility. Also Read I U.S. unveils plans to control Venezuela’s oil sales ‘indefinitely’Asked when more sanctions could be removed ​from Venezuela, Mr. Bessent said, “It could be as soon as next week,” but did not identify which ones. Venezuela paid off its last World Bank loan in 2007, when Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez declared that Venezuela “will no longer have to go to Washington” for funding. They haven’t talked about financing at all,” Mr. Bessent said.

Source: The Hindu January 11, 2026 12:20 UTC