OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL
Venezuela Sanctions Regulations
31 CFR part 591
GENERAL LICENSE NO. 61A
Authorizing the Supply of Certain Items and Services to Venezuela Related to Telecommunications
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (the VSR), including those involving the Government of Venezuela, including but not limited to the Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL) and the Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV), that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision from the United States or by a U.S. person of goods, technology, software, or services for the installation, maintenance, refurbishment, repair, upgrade, operation, or support of telecommunications in Venezuela are authorized, provided that any contract for such transactions with the Government of Venezuela, including but not limited to CONATEL and CANTV, shall require that dispute resolution proceedings relating to the contract occur in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, or Singapore.
Note 1 to Paragraph (a). For purposes of this general license, telecommunications includes data, telephone, internet connectivity, radio, television, news wire feeds, and similar services, regardless of the medium of transmission, including transmission by satellite or through submarine cables.
Note 2 to Paragraph (a). Transactions authorized by paragraph (a) include: processing payments and arranging shipping, including air freight, logistics, warehousing, insurance, and delivery services; interconnection and roaming agreements; capacity or infrastructure leases; and the laying, maintenance, repair, refurbishment, upgrade, security, operation, or support of submarine cables and other telecommunications infrastructure or equipment; and the provision, licensing, renewal, maintenance, or support of related software, systems, and services.
Note 3 to Paragraph (a). See Venezuela General License No. 30B for an authorization for transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to operations or use of ports and airports in Venezuela.
(b) This general license does not authorize:
(1) Payment terms that are not commercially reasonable, involve debt swaps or payments in gold, or are denominated in digital currency, digital coin, or digital tokens issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela, including the petro;
(2) Any transaction involving a person located in or organized under the laws of the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the People’s Republic of China, or any entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or in a joint venture with such persons;
(3) The unblocking of any property blocked pursuant to the VSR;
(4) Any transaction involving a blocked vessel; or
(5) The formation of new joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to develop or invest in the telecommunications sector.
(c) Any person that exports, reexports, sells, resells, or supplies goods, technology, software, or services pursuant to this general license must provide a detailed report to [email protected] that identifies, for each of these transactions:
(1) The parties involved;
(2) The goods, technology, software, or services involved, including quantities and values;
(3) The dates the transactions occurred; and
(4) Any taxes, fees, or other payments provided to the Government of Venezuela.
(d) Reports described in paragraph (c) are due ten days after the execution of the first of such transactions and every 90 days thereafter while such transactions are ongoing.
(e) Effective August 27, 2026, General License No. 61, dated August 21, 2026, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General License No. 61A.
Note to General License No. 61A. Nothing in this general license relieves any person from compliance with the requirements of other Federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
Bradley T. Smith
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: August 27, 2026
[8-27-26 update – GL amended (alongside all others with a governing law provision) to strike the requirement that “the terms of the contract be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of a state or other jurisdiction within the United States” and to remove the related interpretive note]
1) On 8-21-26, OFAC issued the three documents referenced above in connection with the Venezuelan telecommunications sector. GL 62 is a “contingent contracts for new investment” GL that broadly parallels Venezuela GL 55 in the mining context (see comments thereto). The term “new investment” is not defined for purposes of the GL, but it should be presumed to cover a range of activity not covered by the concurrently issued GL 61 “Authorizing the Supply of Certain Items and Services to Venezuela Related to Telecommunications”. It is clear from Note 2 that “establish new telecommunication service providers in Venezuela” and “expand existing telecommunications operations in Venezuela” would constitute “new investment”.
2) Concurrently, OFAC issued Venezuela GL 61 and related FAQ # 1266. GL 61, which is like the parallel Venezuela GL 48B (for “goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, or petrochemical products in Venezuela”). Note the removal of the Foreign Government Deposit Funds requirement (unlikely to be an issue in the context of sales to Venezuela). Note in addition the exclusion for “[t]he formation of new joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to develop or invest in the telecommunications sector,” which are to be addressed through GL 62.
3) Other aspects of GL 62 and the related FAQ are helpful for both interpretation of the GL and certain other OFAC licenses. First, OFAC specifies that “For purposes of this general license, telecommunications includes data, telephone, internet connectivity, radio, television, news wire feeds, and similar services, regardless of the medium of transmission, including transmission by satellite or through submarine cables.” The “For purposes of this general license” language indicates that OFAC does not necessarily intend the meaning of “telecommunications” here to extend to the standard telecom GL (e.g. at 560.508) discussed at General Note on General Licenses for Transactions Related to Telecommunications and Mail, but in the absence of any other definition of “telecommunications,” the definitions here are useful at indicators of what the term could mean in other contexts.
4) FAQ # 1266 clarifies that “[t]he provision of other financial services for the refurbishment, repair, upgrade, operation, or support of telecommunications in Venezuela would also be authorized to the extent ordinarily incident and necessary to the authorized telecommunications-related activity and provided that it does not involve debt swaps or other payment terms prohibited by GL 61.” Compare Case No. BU-2013-302061-1 (export financing as “ordinarily incident” to authorized export of goods). This FAQ appears to take a similar view, as “other financial services” would be services other than “processing payments,” which is explicit in the FAQ. As it relates to “other financial services for the refurbishment, repair, upgrade, operation, or support of telecommunications in Venezuela,” one would expect this to cover debt financing by banks, given the high capital expenditures that such infrastructure-related activities can entail, and the fact that these financial services are only covered when “ordinarily incident and necessary to the authorized telecommunications-related activity” indicates that the FAQ is relevant for the interpretation of the standard “ordinarily incident” interpretive provision (591.404 in the VSR).