US targets China’s telecoms grip in Venezuela with new sanctions carve-out

The United States is opening Venezuela’s telecommunications sector to new investment and technology while explicitly excluding Chinese companies, a move that could reshape a market where Huawei

have become deeply embedded and give Western suppliers an opening as the country expands its 5G networks.

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.