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US Authorizes Transaction With Venezuelan Banks
General License 57 authorizes financial services transactions involving certain Venezuelan banks and government of Venezuela individuals.
LATINVEX SPECIAL
Diaz Reus
On April 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Venezuela General License 57 (“GL 57”), “Authorizing Financial Services Transactions Involving Certain Venezuelan Banks and Government of Venezuela Individuals,” further easing certain restrictions under the Venezuela sanctions program.
GL 57 authorizes transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision, exportation, or reexportation of financial services to, from, or for the benefit of certain Venezuelan financial institutions and individuals. These include Banco Central de Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, Banco Digital de los Trabajadores Banco Universal C.A., and Banco del Tesoro, C.A. Banco Universal, as well as entities in which such institutions own, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest.
GL 57 also authorizes financial services transactions involving certain individuals whose property is blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13884 because they meet the definition of “Government of Venezuela,” provided that such individuals are not separately designated on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”). In addition, GL 57 authorizes transactions involving the Government of Venezuela that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the foregoing financial services activities.
DRT Commentary
GL 57 represents a targeted expansion of permissible financial services activity involving Venezuela, permitting a broad range of previously restricted financial services transactions; however, the authorization remains limited in scope, as it does not authorize the unblocking of any blocked property or any transactions otherwise prohibited under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, unless separately authorized.
To prevent violations of OFAC sanctions or other U.S. laws, individuals and organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction should conduct an OFAC review of any transaction involving Venezuelan financial institutions or government-related individuals to confirm whether reliance on GL 57 is appropriate or whether a specific license or interpretive guidance from OFAC is required.
This overview was written by Diaz Reus & Targ lawyers Michael Diaz, Jr., Javier Coronado Diaz and Isabela Hernández-Peredo Martínez.
Republished with permission from Diaz Reus & Targ.
