The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday issued two general licences easing some sanctions restrictions on Venezuela’s telecommunications sector, including transactions involving state-owned provider CANTV and mobile operator Movilnet.
The move extends to telecommunications a restriction Washington has already applied as it selectively eases sanctions on Venezuela.
Earlier authorisations covering the country’s oil sector similarly opened the door to certain transactions while excluding China-linked entities, allowing the Trump administration to loosen economic restrictions on Caracas without extending the benefits to one of its principal geopolitical rivals.
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China’s embassy in Washington criticised the restrictions and vowed to defend Chinese companies affected by them.