Partial Sanctions Relief for Venezuela

On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued six general licenses authorizing categories of transactions that were previously prohibited under the U.S. sanctions program against Venezuela. The partial sanctions relief was the U.S. government’s response to an agreement between Venezuela’s Unitary Platform and representatives of President Nicolás Maduro that created a roadmap for democratic elections in the country.

The new authorizations include:

• A temporary authorization for transactions involving the oil and gas sector in Venezuela
• An authorization to deal with Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company CVG Compania General de Mineria de Venezuela CA (“Minerven”)
• The removal of the secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”) debt and equity
• An authorization for certain transactions involving S.-designated Venezuelan state-owned airline, Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronauticas y Servicios Aereos, S.A. (“Conviasa”)

The latest general licenses are limited, and the U.S. sanctions program against Venezuela—established in 2015 by Executive Order 13692 in the wake of the Maduro regime’s crackdown on democratic processes and human rights—remains in place and continues to impose many restrictions. The U.S. government has also confirmed its readiness to reverse the new authorizations if the Maduro regime does not meet its obligations under the electoral roadmap.