(VOVWORLD) -Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday appointed former central bank chief Calixto Ortega Sánchez as her Minister of Economy.
 Calixto Ortega Sanchez is Venezuela's former central bank chief and current Minister of Economy (Photo: Reuters) |
It was her first cabinet change since being sworn in as interim president Monday, after a US military raid led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro who is now on trial in New York. Sanchez led Venezuela's central bank from 2018 to 2025 and also has a background in the oil industry.
Rodriguez held the same economic portfolio Sanchez will now take over, when she also served as Maduro's vice president.
In a statement on state TV, she said the government hoped to consolidate last year's numbers going forward, citing a projection of 6.5% growth for Venezuela in 2025 by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
On Wednesday, Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA said it is negotiating with the US for the sales of a large amount of crude oil, “within the framework of the existing trade relations between the two countries”.
The announcement came just a day after US President Donald Trump announced a deal between the US and Venezuela's interim government. Under the deal, Washington will take over 30-50 million barrels of high-quality crude oil, which will be sold at market price.