VENEECONOMISTEconomic intelligence · Venezuela

Analysis Type B — Trend · JUNE 11, 2026

Venezuela's Mining Opening: OFAC Reopens Gold to Western Trade — With the Cash in the U.S. Treasury

OFAC's June 10 amendment wave rewrote seven Venezuela licenses. The two mining ones —GL 51B and 54A— authorize trading and servicing Venezuelan gold via CVG Minerven, but route payment through the U.S. Treasury, bar new joint ventures and exclude China.

Published June 11, 2026

On June 10, 2026, OFAC replaced seven Venezuela general licenses in a single move. Two of them —GL 51B and GL 54A— are the mining piece: they let an established U.S. entity trade Venezuelan minerals, gold included, and supply the entire mining chain through state miner CVG Minerven. But the cash is routed into a U.S. Treasury account, forming new joint ventures is barred, and China is excluded. The constraint is no longer the license; it is the contract architecture and the traceability of the payment.

OFAC did not issue a standalone license: it rewrote seven at once —oil trade (46C), diluents (47A), goods and services to the energy sector (48B), operations of the Annex oil companies (50B), PdVSA transactions (52A), and the two mining licenses (51B and 54A)— and published two frequently asked questions, 1259 and 1260. All share the same template, which reveals a deliberate decision: to standardize the form in which doing business in Venezuela is authorized, not merely what is authorized.

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VENE · ECONOMIST Intelligence Unit · Informational analysis. Does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Vene Economist is not a credit rating agency; the "VE Verdict" is a proprietary editorial indicator, not a credit rating. Always verify against the primary source before making decisions.

Topics

OFAC U.S. Department of the Treasury

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GL 62 — Negotiations of and Entry Into Contingent Contracts for Investment in the Telecommunications Sector of Venezuela

Authorizes transactions prohibited by the VSR — including those involving the Government of Venezuela, CONATEL, and CANTV — related to the negotiation of and entry into contingent contracts for new investment in the telecommunications sector of Venezuela, provided that performance of any such contract is made expressly contingent upon separate authorization from OFAC. Covers establishing new telecommunication service providers, expanding existing operations, and forming new joint ventures or other entities, along with prefatory steps such as commercial, legal, technical, safety, and environmental due diligence and assessments. No periodic reporting and no expiration date.