US Treasury Issues General Licenses 61 & 62, Easing Telecom Sanctions for CANTV, CONATEL

OFAC issued General License 61 on August 21, authorizing US companies to supply, install, maintain, refurbish, repair, upgrade and support telecommunications infrastructure and services — including data, telephony, internet connectivity, radio, television and submarine cable systems — for Venezuela's state telecom company CANTV, regulator CONATEL, and mobile subsidiary Movilnet. Companion General License 62 permits negotiation and signing of contingent new-investment telecom contracts, though actual spending still requires separate OFAC authorization. Contracts must be governed by US, UK, French or Singaporean law, and dealings with Russian, Iranian, North Korean, Cuban or Chinese-flagged entities remain prohibited. The move builds on earlier General Licenses 24 and 24A and marks a targeted easing of sanctions on Venezuela's long-degraded telecommunications sector while broader financial and investment restrictions remain in place.