📊 One less name on the list

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, confirmed this Wednesday, October 14, the removal of Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of interim president Delcy Rodríguez, from its list of sanctioned individuals. The announcement appeared on the agency’s recent actions page, with no formal explanation of the reasons provided.

Rodríguez had been subject to sanctions since 2018: asset freezes, the blocking of property, accounts, and assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and an explicit ban on U.S. citizens, companies, and banks conducting any transaction or providing any financial services to him, directly or indirectly. His removal from the list follows that of Delcy Rodríguez, whose name was removed last April.

📈 What technically changes (and what doesn’t)

Let’s be clear, because there’s already a lot of speculation out there. OFAC removing someone from the SDN list does not mean lifting the general blockade on the country, let alone the sectoral sanctions that still affect certain institutions. Specifically, what changes is that a high-profile official is no longer a compliance risk for any counterparty with a presence in the United States.

Put simply: if a correspondent bank in Miami, Madrid, or Panama previously held up transactions for fear of dealing with someone linked to Rodríguez, that specific obstacle is now removed. The list of sanctioned entities isn’t being removed, nor are the restrictions that still limit Venezuelan correspondent banking.

🔎 The real impact on banking

Venezuelan banks have been in a compliance limbo for years. Opening or maintaining correspondent accounts has been a headache, and every political move in Washington shifts the mood among the risk departments of foreign banks. A removal like this won’t magically bring correspondent banking relationships back, but it does improve the climate for those considering reopening channels.

For ordinary users, the most reliable indicator is still the same: the gap between the BCV’s official rate and the dollar available on the street. No decree or removal can work miracles overnight.

💰 The P2P market is watching closely

Venezuela’s P2P ecosystem—where USDT is bought and sold for bolívares via bank transfers, Pago Móvil, or Zelle—works precisely because there’s friction. When traditional banking gets in the way, people turn to mechanisms that don’t depend on a correspondent bank. Every time a thaw is announced, the question that comes up in the PitbullChain chat is always the same: Will USDT go down? Will the parallel rate stabilize?

The short answer: not overnight. The P2P market moves with liquidity, supply and demand, and expectations. And expectations do shift with news like this. If major traders interpret the move as a sign that more easing is on the way, it could put downward pressure on the USDT-to-bolívar exchange rate, though likely only modestly and in the short term.

🛡️ USDT: the usual barometer

The behavior to watch isn’t the official rate, but the spread across the major P2P exchanges. That’s where demand for dollarization shows up. When there’s uncertainty, the spread widens. When there are signs of a thaw, it tends to narrow, even if only slightly.

One key detail to keep in mind: most local P2P desks don’t deal with U.S. banks, so an OFAC removal won’t change their operations immediately. What does change is market sentiment and the willingness of certain institutional traders to move larger volumes.

⚠️ What to expect in the coming weeks

Three specific things to monitor:

🧭 1. The tone of official statements

If Caracas sees the removal as a sign of a thaw and deepens its opening, we could see more gestures in the short term. If it’s viewed as merely tactical, the effect will fade quickly.

⚙️ 2. Payment channels

It’s worth watching to see whether payment or payout options linked to platforms with a presence in the U.S. reappear. Every door that opens or closes affects the parallel dollar price.

📌 3. P2P liquidity

If major players start operating more comfortably, spreads will narrow. If the market sees no real changes, USDT will retain its premium and no one will budge.

📖 Read the full article: https://pitbullchain.com/noticias/ofac-borra-a-jorge-rodriguez-de-su-lista-negra-y-ahora-que-pasa-con-el-p2p-449483

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$USDT #OFAC #JorgeRodriguez #sancionesVenezuela #USDT #P2PVenezuela