General License 44
OFAC licence of October 2023 opening Venezuela's oil sector for six months.
General License 44 was OFAC's six-month licence of October 2023 opening Venezuela's oil and gas sector in return for an electoral roadmap; it lapsed on 18 April 2024. General License 135 opened the US market to Russian diesel on 9 October 2026 for six months.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026
Timeline for General License 44
Mentioned in: OFAC opens US market to Russian diesel
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
OFAC, the US Treasury's sanctions office, issued General License 44 in October 2023. It authorised transactions in Venezuela's oil and gas sector for six months, after Nicolás Maduro's government agreed an electoral roadmap with the opposition.
OFAC let it expire on 18 April 2024 after the State Department said Maduro had not met his commitments. A successor, GL 44A, allowed wind-down activity until 31 May 2024.
The licence stands as the case of sanctions relief that bought nothing lasting. General License 135, issued on 9 October 2026, opens the US market to Russian diesel until 7 April 2027, a similar six-month window. General License 44 shows what happens when such a window closes and the political concession has not come.