OFAC Delays CITGO Bondholder Seizure to Dec. 18

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 5AA on November 4, 2026, pushing to December 18, 2026 the date on which holders of the PDVSA 2020 bond could begin to claim CITGO shares, the Houston-based refiner owned by PDVSA, Venezuela’s state oil company. The prior date, set by General License 5Z on September 16, was November 5, one day later. Data as of November 6, 2026.

What is known

• What OFAC says: GL 5AA delays the authorization in General License 5 until December 18, 2026. Until then, OFAC’s FAQ 595 says no authorization covers these transactions: selling or transferring the CITGO shares tied to the bond stays prohibited unless OFAC grants a specific license.
• The bond: the PDVSA 2020 bond pays an 8.5% coupon and is secured by CITGO shares. Executive Order 13835 (May 21, 2018) bars U.S. persons from dealing in equity of entities the Venezuelan government owns 50% or more; GL 5 (July 19, 2018) removed that barrier for bondholders, and GL 5A (October 24, 2019) delayed it. OFAC has extended the delay several times since.
• Restructuring: OFAC amended FAQ 595. If parties agree to restructure or refinance bond payments, additional licensing requirements could apply; OFAC says it would take a favorable approach to a specific license for such a deal, but the parties must apply.
• How many times: Últimas Noticias counts 28 general licenses issued to postpone enforcement. That figure comes from one outlet; the OFAC pages we read do not state it.
• Safe harbor: according to the OFAC FAQ, the agency will not penalize steps taken to preserve bondholders’ ability to enforce against the collateral.

What is not known

• Whether another extension is coming. Rio Times reports that the notice does not promise one, although OFAC has done it repeatedly.
• How much bondholders are owed. None of the sources says.
• Whether talks are under way. Rio Times says no creditor, Venezuelan official or CITGO executive has commented on the new date.
• What happens to the court-supervised sale of CITGO’s parent in Delaware to Amber Energy. OFAC’s notice does not mention it and the sources for this story give no current status. See Who Owns CITGO?.
• We did not read the full text of GL 5AA, because OFAC’s PDF could not be parsed; the above comes from FAQ 595, OFAC’s Recent Actions page and the two news reports cited.

Why it matters

CITGO refines crude in the United States and is PDVSA’s asset most exposed to its creditors. Until the date arrives, ownership does not change: Rio Times reports that CITGO keeps operating under its current ownership for now. The decision sits within the same Treasury licensing framework that now allows trade in Venezuelan oil and minerals; for the rest of it, see Venezuela Sanctions, the unpaid debt in Venezuela Debt Restructuring and our guide to Venezuela’s important minerals.