Treasury amends Venezuela license, drops Russia and narcotics sanctions
OFAC's amended general license changes what companies can do in Venezuela, alongside the removal of separate Russia-related and counter narcotics designations.
Published
The US Treasury has issued an amended general license for Venezuela through its Office of Foreign Assets Control. The same action removes a counter narcotics designation and a set of Russia-related designations.
The Kremlin has said before that lifting sanctions on Russia would help bring down world energy prices, according to a Kremlin spokesperson cited in an earlier story of ours. Dmitry Peskov has also backed a Trump proposal for an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine, according to that reporting.
On the Venezuela side, there is already a company positioned to act. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said a US oil company was set to discuss investment in Venezuela on 16 September 2026.
Taken together, the changes point in two directions at once. Dropping the Russia-related designations could tie into wider talks on sanctions relief as ceasefire negotiations continue, while the Venezuela license changes could open a path to Venezuelan oil as an alternative to Russian supply. Neither move goes far by itself. The Ukraine conflict, NATO's response and the Trump administration's dealings with both Moscow and Kyiv are all still in play, and that leaves the near-term direction for oil markets and geopolitical risk unsettled.