US Treasury Issues Earthquake-Relief Licence for Venezuela, Eases Payment Rule
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on October 16 issued Venezuela-related General Licence 60A, authorizing transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela, together with an amended Frequently Asked Question, FAQ 1263, first released on July 17, 2026. The licence covers relief following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June.
Under the amended answer, payments related to earthquake relief authorized by GL 60A, including taxes, tolls and fees paid to the Government of Venezuela, do not need to be paid into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds Account. Seven other licences running alongside it keep that requirement unchanged. OFAC also warned against relabelling other payments as relief to circumvent the rules.
Venezuela is pursuing a restructuring of an estimated $150-200 billion in sovereign and state oil company debt. As GSM reported on Friday, the country's top economic adviser said Centerview Partners remains its financial adviser for the restructuring, a process he described as more challenging than expected. (GSM, based on U.S. Treasury OFAC documents)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 加拉加斯全景。 Photo by Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
