The United States has further conditionally eased restrictions on energy-related transactions with Venezuela. Faced with the pressure of rising prices of commodities such as energy due to the escalation of the situation in Iran, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued documents on March 13, further conditionally relaxing restrictions on transactions related to Venezuela's oil, gas, and other energy industries.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued three general licenses on the same day, conditionally allowing U.S. entities to conduct transactions related to Venezuelan petroleum or petrochemical products, provide goods and services to Venezuela for the development or production of oil, gas, and petrochemical products, and negotiate or sign contracts with Venezuela in the fields of oil, gas, petrochemicals, or electricity.

Reuters and other media outlets quoted a U.S. Treasury official as saying that this authorization expands the scope of U.S. investment and activities in Venezuela's energy sector and allows Venezuela to directly export fertilizers to the United States.

On January 3 of this year, the U.S. military launched a large-scale military strike against Venezuela, forcibly took control of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and brought them to the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States would "manage" Venezuela until a "safe" transition is implemented, and that major U.S. oil companies would enter Venezuela for investment. At the end of January, the U.S. government lifted restrictions on some activities related to Venezuelan oil transactions.