Sanctions · Tuesday, September 29, 2026
OFAC amends three Venezuela general licenses
The File desk · Sep 29, 2026, 10:10 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed (OFAC recent actions, Sept. 28, 2026)
On Sept. 28, 2026, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued amended Venezuela-related general licenses. Legal instrument Lets certain dealings in Venezuelan-origin oil or petrochemical products that U.S. Venezuela sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program. Legal instrument Lets the supply of certain items and services to Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program. Legal instrument Lets companies negotiate and sign contingent contracts for certain investment in Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.Venezuela-related General License 46E (Sept. 28, 2026)
Venezuela-related General License 48D (Sept. 28, 2026)
Venezuela-related General License 49B (Sept. 28, 2026)
On Sept. 28, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control posted three amended Venezuela licenses.
The page says the office is issuing Legal instrument Lets certain dealings in Venezuelan-origin oil or petrochemical products that U.S. Venezuela sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program. Legal instrument Lets the supply of certain items and services to Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program. Legal instrument Lets companies negotiate and sign contingent contracts for certain investment in Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.Venezuela-related General License 46E (Sept. 28, 2026)
Venezuela-related General License 48D (Sept. 28, 2026)
Venezuela-related General License 49B (Sept. 28, 2026)
Legal instrument Lets certain dealings in Venezuelan-origin oil or petrochemical products that U.S. Venezuela sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.Venezuela-related General License 46E (Sept. 28, 2026)
Legal instrument Lets the supply of certain items and services to Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.Venezuela-related General License 48D (Sept. 28, 2026)
Legal instrument Lets companies negotiate and sign contingent contracts for certain investment in Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.Venezuela-related General License 49B (Sept. 28, 2026)
Each license is a written exception. It authorizes a narrow set of activities that U.S. Venezuela sanctions would otherwise prohibit.
None of the three lifts the broader sanctions program. A company still has to meet the license’s terms.
This desk did not extract the full operative text of each amendment, or the practical change from the prior versions 46D, 48C, and 49A.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Full operative text of each amendment was not extracted.
- Practical change versus prior versions 46D, 48C, and 49A.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Issuance of Amended Venezuela General Licenses
Office of Foreign Assets Control · September 28, 2026
OFAC is issuing
,Legal instrument
Venezuela-related General License 46E (Sept. 28, 2026)
Lets certain dealings in Venezuelan-origin oil or petrochemical products that U.S. Venezuela sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.
, andLegal instrument
Venezuela-related General License 48D (Sept. 28, 2026)
Lets the supply of certain items and services to Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.
.Legal instrument
Venezuela-related General License 49B (Sept. 28, 2026)
Lets companies negotiate and sign contingent contracts for certain investment in Venezuela that U.S. sanctions would otherwise bar. It does not lift the broader sanctions program.
https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260928