OFAC eases Venezuela sanctions for telecom services, investment talks
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized U.S.-linked telecommunications supplies and services for Venezuela and separately allowed contingent investment contracts through two licenses dated Aug. 21.
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2026 — The Treasury Department opened two limited routes for telecommunications activity in Venezuela, authorizing certain operational support while allowing negotiations for new investment that cannot proceed without separate approval.
General License 61 permits transactions ordinarily necessary for U.S. persons or providers in the United States to supply goods, technology, software and services for installing, maintaining, repairing, upgrading or operating Venezuelan telecommunications. The authorization covers dealings involving the Venezuelan government, including telecommunications regulator CONATEL and state-owned provider CANTV.
Covered services include data, telephone, internet connectivity, radio, television and news wire feeds transmitted through systems such as satellites or submarine cables. Payment processing, shipping, insurance, roaming agreements, infrastructure leases, software support and cloud services may also qualify when tied to authorized activity.
Contracts with the Venezuelan government must be interpreted under the law of a U.S. jurisdiction, while related dispute proceedings must take place in the United States, United Kingdom, France or Singapore.
License users must report transaction parties, goods or services, values, dates and payments to the Venezuelan government. The first report is due 10 days after the initial transaction, with additional reports required every 90 days while activity continues.
General License 62 separately authorizes negotiations and contingent contracts for new telecommunications investment. It covers preliminary due diligence and agreements to establish providers, expand operations or form joint ventures, but contract performance must remain expressly dependent on separate OFAC authorization.
Both licenses exclude transactions involving people in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba or China, as well as certain entities owned, controlled by or in joint ventures with them. Neither license unblocks property frozen under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations. License 61 also excludes blocked vessels, new telecommunications joint ventures and specified payment arrangements, including gold, debt swaps and Venezuelan government-issued digital tokens.
The differing permissions, exclusions and reporting terms define the scope compliance teams will need to capture when assessing Venezuela-related telecommunications activity. OFAC also issued a new frequently asked question explaining License 61.
Regulatory Actions
Structured data extracted from official sources and validated by sanctions experts