The US Department of the Treasury issued three new general licenses allowing limited operations in the Venezuelan oil, civil aviation, and telecom sectors. However, the US-imposed sanctions regime remains in place.
The licenses, issued on Thursday, June 18 and administered through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, open specific operational spaces for the Venezuelan public oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the national airline Conviasa, and the telecommunications sector.
General License 5X authorizes certain transactions related to the PDVSA 2020 8.5 Percent Bond starting from August 4, 2026. According to the OFAC document, this license authorizes “all transactions related to the provision of financing for, and other dealings in the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond” that had been prohibited under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulation.
This means PDVSA may carry out operations to buy, sell, or eventual restructure this particular bond.
The US Treasury, however, clarified that this license has a limited scope and does not entail any lifting of sanctions, nor does it represent a broad easing on the country’s sovereign or corporate debt.
Licenses for civil aviation and telecommunication
In the aviation sector, General License 59 issued by the OFAC authorizes transactions by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa focused exclusively on safety and technical operability. The authorization includes the provision of essential goods and services for the “maintenance, repair, upgrade, refurbishment, improvement, safety, or airworthiness” of Conviasa-owned aircraft, including the acquisition of spare parts, specialized software, technical inspections, and airworthiness support.
This license has the sole objective of ensuring the safe operation of the equipment, and it explicitly excludes the authorization of general commercial operations for the company.
Characteristics and Scope of OFAC Licenses for Venezuela in 2026
The third license, namely, General License 24A facilitates the transmission and receipt of communications and mail and packages to, from, and within Venezuelan territory. Nevertheless, the document makes it clear that it does not terminate any unilateral coercive measures imposed on the sector.
The OFAC emphasized that any transaction not expressly contemplated in these licenses remains prohibited, thus maintaining the economic blockade of Venezuela that Washington has upheld as part of its foreign policy.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SH
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