Venezuela Sanctions in 2026: What Is Still Banned and What U.S. Licenses Allow
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela remain in force in November 2026: they have not been lifted, they have been eased through licenses. Since Nicolás Maduro was captured and arrested on January 3, 2026, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued general licenses that allow, with conditions, trading oil, gold and minerals, using Venezuelan banks, investing and preparing the debt restructuring. What stays prohibited is the core: dealing in Venezuelan and PDVSA bonds, selling their equity, attaching their assets, and doing business with persons or companies from Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba or China in those deals. Data as of November 2, 2026.
Venezuela sanctions at a glance
| Are sanctions still in place? | Yes; eased by licenses, not lifted |
| Sanction on PDVSA | Since January 28, 2019 |
| Sanction on the Government | Executive Order 13884, August 2019 |
| Key 2026 order | EO 14373, January 9: protects payments held in U.S. accounts |
| Enforced by | OFAC, U.S. Treasury |
| 2026 oil licenses | 46E, 50C, 52C, 47B |
| Still prohibited | Dealing in bonds, selling PDVSA equity, attaching assets |
Are the sanctions on Venezuela still in place?
Yes. OFAC’s list keeps the sanctions program and its executive orders: 13884 (blocking the property of the Government of Venezuela, August 2019), 13850, 13835, 13808 (bonds and debt) and 14373 (2026). What changed is the number of general licenses: public permits that anyone who meets the conditions can use without asking for case-by-case approval.
How did the sanctions start?
On January 28, 2019, the Treasury designated PDVSA, blocked its property under U.S. jurisdiction and generally barred U.S. persons from dealing with it (PDVSA explained). In August 2019, Order 13884 blocked the property of the entire Government of Venezuela. From 2022 the U.S. issued different licenses: one to Chevron in November 2022; in March 2025 it required Chevron to wind down operations, and in July 2025 a license was reported allowing its joint ventures to resume operating without cash payments to the government, per the CRS (Chevron in Venezuela).
What changed in 2026?
On January 3, 2026, Maduro was captured and arrested, and an interim government began working with U.S. officials, per the CRS. On January 6 it was announced that the U.S. would market Venezuelan oil and deposit the proceeds in U.S.-controlled accounts. On January 9, Executive Order 14373 created the “Foreign Government Deposit Funds”: money of the Government of Venezuela, the Central Bank and PDVSA held in designated U.S. Treasury accounts from the sale of natural resources or diluents. The order declares null any attachment, judgment or lien against those funds, and says they are the property of the Government of Venezuela and not of its creditors.
What do OFAC’s licenses allow?
These are the 2026 general licenses on OFAC’s list, by sector (for those marked * I read the license text; for the others, only the official title):
| Sector | License | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Oil and petrochemicals | 46E* | Sep 28 |
| PDVSA operations | 52C* | Sep 14 |
| Oil and gas of certain companies | 50C* | Aug 27 |
| U.S.-origin diluents | 47B | Aug 27 |
| Gold, coal and minerals | 51D* | Sep 2 |
| Supplies for mining | 54C* | Sep 2 |
| Mining investment (contingent contracts) | 55A* | Sep 2 |
| General investment (contingent contracts) | 49B*, 56 | Sep 28, Apr 14 |
| Banks and officials | 57* | Apr 14 |
| Debt restructuring | 58* | May 5 |
| PDVSA 2020 bond | 5Z | Sep 16 |
| Telecommunications | 24A, 61A, 62 | Jun, Aug |
| Ports and airports | 30B | Feb 10 |
| Conviasa | 59 | Jun 18 |
| Earthquake relief | 60A | Oct 16 |
What do the oil licenses say?
- GL 46E: authorizes established U.S. entities to lift, sell, store, transport and refine Venezuelan oil for importation into the U.S., including shipping, insurance and port services. It allows commercially reasonable payments in the form of swaps of crude, diluents or refined products. If oil is sold to other countries under this license, a report must go to the State and Energy Departments every 90 days.
- GL 52C: authorizes an established U.S. entity to do business with PDVSA and its subsidiaries. It does not authorize transactions in bonds or debt, or selling or pledging PDVSA equity, or changing control of CITGO (who owns CITGO).
- GL 50C: authorizes oil and gas sector operations of the companies listed in its annex. Taxes and royalties to the Venezuelan government must be paid into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds.
What about the gold and minerals license?
GL 51D authorizes established U.S. entities to export, sell, store, buy and transport Venezuelan-origin coal and minerals, including gold, including when dealing with the government, Carbozulia or Minerven. It allows prior due diligence and shipping. It does not authorize exploration, development, mining, extraction, processing or setting up joint ventures in Venezuela, nor processing the gold in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea or Cuba. Licenses 54C and 55A, of the same date, cover supplying equipment and services and contingent investment contracts (which only take effect with a further OFAC authorization). Details in investing in Venezuelan mining. More in Venezuelan gold and Venezuela’s gold reserves.
What conditions do they all share?
They repeat across the licenses I read:
- “Established U.S. entity”: an entity organized in the U.S. on or before January 29, 2025.
- Disputes outside Venezuela: contracts with the government or PDVSA must require dispute resolution in the U.S., the U.K., France or Singapore.
- Payments to blocked persons (except local taxes, permits and fees) go into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds or an account the Treasury designates.
- Reports to the State and Energy Departments.
- Exclusions: transactions with persons in Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba; in oil and minerals, Venezuelan or U.S. entities controlled by or in a joint venture with persons in China are also out; and under GL 50C, any person in China.
- Banned payment terms: gold or debt swaps (depending on the license), and digital currency issued by the Venezuelan government, such as the petro.
- Blocked vessels: no transactions with them.
What is still prohibited?
According to the license texts:
- Dealing in the bonds and debt of the government and PDVSA, including settling them (EO 13808); the restructuring has a license only for advisory work (Venezuela’s debt and bonds).
- Selling, transferring or pledging equity in PDVSA or other state companies (EO 13835), which includes changing control of CITGO.
- Enforcing judgments, awards or liens against blocked property.
- Unblocking blocked property.
- Dealing with persons on the SDN list (apart from each license’s exceptions).
What does this mean for Venezuela?
It is what explains the reopening of the sector: the licenses let Chevron, Eni, Repsol, Shell and others work in the country (oil companies in Venezuela), and they tie into the reform of the oil law (the hydrocarbons law). The money collected goes through designated U.S. Treasury accounts (oil price today).
What is not known
- Whether the licenses will last. They are permits OFAC can change or revoke at any time; several are already on their fourth or fifth version (46E, 51D).
- When the underlying sanctions will be lifted, and under what conditions.
- What happens on November 5 with GL 5Z (who owns CITGO).
- What the licenses I did not read say (47B, 56, 24A, 30B, 59, 60A, 61A and 62): I only quote their official title.
- How much money is in the Foreign Government Deposit Funds and how it will be used: the order gives no figures.
How much oil sits behind these rules: Venezuela oil reserves.
What it means for a new oil investment: Venezuela oil investment.