Treasury Issues General License 60 for Venezuela Earthquake Humanitarian Aid
In brief
- Treasury issued General License 60 enabling humanitarian organizations to deliver Venezuela earthquake relief without violating sanctions
- Twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck Venezuela on June 24, strongest since 1900
- At least 188 dead, over 1,520 injured, and 45,000+ missing from the seismic event
- General licenses allow banks and NGOs to conduct specific activities without individual exemptions
Scope of the disaster
At least 188 people were confirmed dead, more than 1,520 injured, and over 45,000 remained missing from the earthquakes. Venezuela declared a state of emergency as aftershocks continued to rattle the region, overwhelming local response capacity.
The scale of the humanitarian need demanded immediate action. Financial institutions typically block or reject transactions involving sanctioned jurisdictions, even when the intent is purely humanitarian, due to risk aversion and potential penalties reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.
How General License 60 works
General License 60 authorizes activities specifically tied to earthquake relief efforts, effectively carving a humanitarian corridor through the sanctions framework. Rather than requiring every aid organization to apply for individual exemptions, a general license acts as a blanket authorization, telling banks, NGOs, and logistics companies they can conduct specific activities without asking first.
This represents a notable expansion in scope. Previous OFAC general licenses related to Venezuela focused narrowly on oil-sector authorizations, making General License 60 a significant shift in how the Treasury approaches humanitarian access to the sanctioned nation.
The crypto angle
One notable gap: General License 60 focuses on conventional financial channels and does not include cryptocurrency or digital asset provisions in the relief framework. This matters because Venezuela has one of the highest rates of crypto adoption in Latin America, driven in large part by the very economic pressures that sanctions have intensified.
The omission suggests the Treasury prioritized speed and clarity over comprehensive coverage. Humanitarian organizations can now move funds through traditional banking corridors without legal friction, but digital-asset pathways remain outside the license's scope.
