CARACAS — The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new general licenses on Friday, August 21, opening Venezuela’s telecommunications sector to American companies for the first time under a specific, dedicated licensing framework — a category broad enough to explicitly cover radio, television, and news broadcasting alongside internet and phone infrastructure.
New Licenses
General License 61 authorizes U.S. companies and individuals to supply goods, technology, software, and services needed to install, maintain, repair, upgrade, operate, or support telecommunications systems in Venezuela, including transactions with state-run entities such as Conatel (Venezuela’s telecommunications regulator), CANTV (the national telephone company), and Movilnet.
General License 62 separately authorizes negotiating and entering into contingent contracts for investment in Venezuela’s telecommunications sector, laying groundwork for future deals even before they’re finalized.