What OFAC’s New License Does —and Doesn’t— Allow for Aiding Venezuela After the Quake
After the earthquake, OFAC issued General License 60, which temporarily lifts the sanctions prohibitions for relief through October 23, 2026, and the U.S. pledged US$150M through the UN and aid partners. A descriptive map of the perimeter: which transactions are authorized (including third-country transfers), what the license leaves out (no property unblocked, no ordinary remittances or commerce), and through which vehicles the money flows. Information, not advice.
Alongside the tragedy, the June 24 earthquake opened a concrete question for anyone who wants to help: what can be done legally? The United States answered with two verifiable measures —OFAC's General License 60, which temporarily lifts the sanctions prohibitions for relief through October 23, 2026, and a 150-million-dollar contribution channeled through the UN and aid partners. What follows is a map of the perimeter: what the license authorizes, what it leaves out, and through which vehicles the money flows. It is information, not advice: every operation should be assessed against the official text.
General License 60 authorizes, for earthquake-relief purposes, all transactions that the Venezuela sanctions regime (the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591) would normally prohibit. The authorization has a closing date: it runs through 12:01 a.m. eastern time on October 23, 2026. Within that window, two details of the text are especially relevant for anyone moving relief resources:
Keep reading — free
Sign up and read 3 analyses a month, free
Create your reader account with your email. No password, no card.
Want no limits? Subscribe to Explorer from $19/mes