Within the regulatory framework of the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 591) and Executive Order 13884, on 14 April 2026, OFAC adopted General Licences Nos. 56 and 57, introducing specific authorisations that partially relax the current sanction regime against the Government of Venezuela and certain associated entities.
General Licence No. 56 authorises transactions that are ordinarily incidental and necessary for the negotiation of contingent commercial contracts with the Government of Venezuela. Its scope of application is limited to the pre-contractual phase, in order to allow economic operators are permitted to proceed with negotiation processes, including executory contracts, tender bids, agreements in principle, memoranda of understanding or pro forma invoices, provided that the final conclusion and execution of such instruments are expressly subject to the subsequent obtaining of a specific authorisation from OFAC.
For these purposes, the term ‘Government of Venezuela’ should be interpreted broadly, encompassing not only the State and its organs, but also any entity or person acting directly or indirectly on its behalf or under its control.
This General Licence establishes, however, material limits, such as those transactions prohibited by other provisions of the sanction regime, in particular those relating to sovereign debt, financial instruments or holdings of PDVSA, as well as those linked to the dealings in blocked assets. Nor does it cover payment terms that do not meet criteria of commercial reasonableness, excluding debt settlements, payments in gold or the use of digital assets issued by the Venezuelan Government. Similarly, it is prohibited to enter into settlement agreements or to enforce court orders or arbitral awards involving the transfer or alteration of frozen assets, as well as transactions concerning persons or entities linked to specially restricted jurisdictions (i.e. Russia, Iran, North Korea or Cuba) or certain business structures with Chinese entity participation in Venezuela or the United States.
In any event, the absolute prohibition on dealing with persons designated on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN), as well as with entities in which such persons hold a 50% or greater stake, remains in force, and under no circumstances is the release of blocked assets authorised.
For its part, General Licence No. 57 introduces a broader authorisation in the financial sphere. It permits the execution of transactions necessary for the provision, export or re-export of financial services to, from or for the benefit of certain Venezuelan banking entities, including Banco Central de Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, Banco Digital de los Trabajadores and Banco del Tesoro, as well as entities in which these hold a stake of 50% or more. The authorisation also extends to certain individuals linked to the Venezuelan Government who are not included on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN), and covers, to the extent necessary, transactions with the Venezuelan Government itself associated with the conduct of such financial activities.
The concept of financial services is defined in broad terms, ranging from the opening, maintenance and closure of accounts to fund transfers, banking services, financing, insurance,
investment transactions and digital payments, both through traditional infrastructure and via new payment technologies. It also covers ancillary services such as fraud prevention, cybersecurity and authentication mechanisms. From an operational perspective, U.S. financial institutions may rely on the information provided by the payer or payee to verify that the transaction complies with the licence, unless they have actual knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that the transaction contravenes the applicable regime.
Nevertheless, the licence preserves the structural elements of the sanction regime: it does not authorise the release of assets subject to restrictive measures, nor does it cover transactions that remain prohibited under the general framework, unless expressly authorised otherwise. Nor does it exempt compliance with obligations arising from the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and FinCEN regulations on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Taken together, both General Licences reflect a partial easing of the U.S. sanction regime against Venezuela, in line with the current political and diplomatic approach between the two countries and aimed at allowing the limited and gradual resumption of commercial contacts and certain financial flows.
With the collaboration of José Luis Iriarte, Professor of Private International Law at the Universidad Pública de Navarra.
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