665. Will the designation of the Government of Venezuela restrict the ability of U.S. persons to support humanitarian efforts, including to engage in or facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance or non-commercial, personal remittances to Venezuela?
No. OFAC is committed to ensuring that humanitarian assistance and non-commercial, personal remittances can flow to the people of Venezuela. To that end, concurrent with the blocking of the Government of Venezuela, OFAC has issued amendments to current Venezuela-related general licenses and issued new general licenses to ensure that U.S. persons may continue to engage in and facilitate non-commercial, personal remittances, and the export or reexport of humanitarian items (agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components for medical devices, and software updates for medical devices) to Venezuela. Likewise, E.O. of August 5, 2019 does not prohibit transactions involving the Government of Venezuela that relate to the provision of articles such as food, clothing, and medicine intended to be used to relieve human suffering. For additional information, please see FAQ 519 and OFAC’s “Guidance Related to the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance and Support to the Venezuelan People.”
OFAC also issued amended General License 20A to authorize official activities of certain international organizations such as the United Nations (including its Programmes and Funds, and its Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations) and the International Committee of the Red Cross, among others, to engage in transactions involving Banco Central de Venezuela, or involving other Government of Venezuela persons to the extent the transactions are subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
Sanctions do not prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in exports or reexports of items to Venezuela, provided that the transactions do not involve sanctioned individuals or entities or certain prohibited activity. Those involved in exports or reexports to Venezuela, including exports or reexports related to activity authorized by OFAC, should also consult the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security to ensure eligibility of exportation or reexportation under its authorities.
If individuals, companies, or financial institutions have questions about engaging in or processing transactions related to these authorizations, they can contact OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation Division at (800) 540-6322 or (202) 622-2490. [08-06-2019]
1) This FAQ was initially issued subsequent to the blocking of the Central Bank of Venezuela, and was amended to account for the blocking of the entire Government of Venezuela. Refer generally to Guidance Related to the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance and Support to the Venezuelan People (comments thereto), the individual GLs mentioned in the FAQ, and comments to EO 13884.