On February 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 45B under Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (“VSR”), 31 CFR part 591. To accompany the newly-amended general license, OFAC published Frequently Asked Question 1167, updated FAQS 1137 and 1141, and deleted FAQs 1142, 1143 and 1144. OFAC issued General License 45B to authorize transactions related to the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals from non-U.S. jurisdictions in the Western Hemisphere to Venezuela that involve Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, SA (“Conviasa”), which would otherwise be prohibited by Executive Order 13850, as amended by EO 13857 or EO 13884. The permissions in this general license extend to entities in which Conviasa owns a 50 percent or greater interest. This license effectively replaces and supersedes General License 45A in its entirety.
On March 1, 2024, OFAC issued FAQ 1167 to explain how Venezuela General License 45B differs from Venezuela GL 45A. According to FAQ 1167, GL 45B no longer permits transactions involving non-commercial flights between non-U.S. jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere and Venezuela that are not exclusively made for repatriation purposes. GL 45B also removes the Annex and authorization for the general maintenance of aircraft unless the aircraft is being used for repatriation flights. OFAC also amended FAQ 1137 in order to clarify which countries were included in the “Western Hemisphere” for purposes of GL 45B, while FAQ 1141 was amended to confirm the types of services that U.S. persons are authorized to provide under GL 45B.
General License 45B | OFAC Recent Actions |FAQ 1167 | FAQs 1137 and 1141