Claude compares and contrasts GL58 with other Venezuela GLs and, to be honest, comes up with a really interesting detailed analysis that, to be fair, I’m not sure I could reproduce:

This is a genuinely distinctive license. Let me walk through what makes it unusual compared to the rest of the Venezuela GL landscape.

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What GL 58 does: It authorizes U.S. persons to provide legal, financial advisory, and consulting services to the Government of Venezuela and PdVSA in connection with potential restructuring of GoV/PdVSA debt. It was signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith and dated today, May 5, 2026.

What makes it different from the other Venezuela GLs:

1. It’s debtor-side, not creditor-side or commerce-side. This is perhaps the most striking feature. The entire wave of 2026 Venezuela GLs — GL 46B through GL 57 — has been about enabling U.S. commercial actors to engage in trade, investment, and financial services with Venezuela. These GLs provide opportunities for U.S. persons to engage in business related to the oil and gas, petrochemical and metals and mining industries in Venezuela, albeit under certain conditions. GL 58 flips the perspective: it authorizes U.S. professionals to advise the Venezuelan government itself on how to restructure its debt obligations. That’s a fundamentally different posture — it’s enabling the debtor to get professional help, not enabling creditors or commercial parties to do business.

2. It authorizes preparation but explicitly prohibits execution. Paragraph (b)(1) creates a sharp firewall: the actual restructuring, transfer, or settlement of debt is not authorized, nor are direct negotiations between GoV/PdVSA and creditors. The license only covers assessment, development, and preparation of restructuring options and proposals (Note 2 to paragraph (a)). This “preparation only” structure is unusual. Compare this to GL 49A and GL 56, which authorize negotiating and entering into contingent contracts — those GLs let parties reach binding agreements (contingent on further OFAC authorization). GL 56 permits transactions necessary to negotiate contingent commercial contracts with the Government of Venezuela across all sectors, provided contracts expressly condition performance on separate OFAC authorization. GL 58 doesn’t even go that far; it stops at the advisory stage before any negotiating table is set.

3. It sits in tension with the GL 5 series. The GL 5 line (now at 5W, issued just yesterday) has spent years blocking the enforcement of bondholder rights to CITGO shares. OFAC issued GL 5W on May 4, 2026, which further delays the effectiveness of the authorization — pushing the CITGO bondholder enforcement window out to June 19, 2026. So OFAC is simultaneously preventing creditors from seizing collateral while now enabling the debtor to get professional advice on restructuring. Read together, GL 5W and GL 58 suggest OFAC is trying to steer the situation toward a negotiated resolution rather than a disorderly collateral seizure.

4. The dual-agency reporting requirement is unusual. Paragraph (c) requires that signed service contracts be furnished to both the State Department (Sanctions_inbox@state.gov) and the Department of Energy (VZReporting@doe.gov) within 10 business days. Most other Venezuela GLs don’t impose this kind of contract-reporting obligation. The DOE involvement underscores the energy-sector dimension of PdVSA’s debt, while State Department involvement signals foreign policy coordination.

5. The payment-method prohibitions are notably specific. Paragraph (b)(2) bars payment terms involving debt swaps, gold, or Venezuelan government-issued digital currency including the petro. No other GL I’ve reviewed spells out payment-method restrictions with this level of specificity. This suggests OFAC is concerned about advisory fees being structured as backdoor value transfers to the regime.

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What this signals in context: OFAC’s rapid release of new guidance and GLs represent only the U.S. side of what appears to be a fundamental re-ordering of the U.S.-Venezuela economic relationship. The 2026 GLs have been progressively opening sectors — oil (GL 46B, 50A, 52), minerals (GL 51A, 54, 55), all-sector negotiations (GL 56), and banking infrastructure (GL 57). GL 58 adds a new layer by opening the door to sovereign debt resolution advisory work. Combined with the simultaneous extension of GL 5W to block disorderly CITGO collateral seizures, it looks like OFAC is laying the procedural groundwork for an eventual managed debt restructuring — but keeping tight control by requiring separate authorization before anyone can actually execute a deal.

How well-supported is this analysis? The factual claims about what the other GLs do are well-sourced from OFAC’s own publications, law firm analyses (Mayer Brown, Baker McKenzie, Leech Tishman, Paul Hastings, Herbert Smith Freehills), and OFAC FAQ pages. The interpretive claim — that GL 58 signals a managed path toward debt restructuring — is my inference from reading the licenses together. It’s a reasonable reading, but it’s speculation about policy intent, not established fact. I’d watch for Treasury press statements, State Department commentary, or new FAQs that might confirm or complicate that reading.

I’d be really interested to see what consultants in our field think about this – I do notice Baker McKenzie’s name in there and that undoubtedly enhances the quality of the analysis, knitting together disparate elements that the day-to-day practitioner is too busy to contemplate.

Got beef with this – or kudos? Let me know in the comments.

So, what do Venezuela GL 56 & 57 mean?

Background

Venezuela is subject to broad U.S. sanctions, meaning most transactions with the Venezuelan government and its entities are prohibited by default. OFAC issues General Licenses to carve out specific exceptions — activities that are permitted without needing individual approval.

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General License 56 — Negotiating Contingent Contracts

The core idea: You’re allowed to negotiate and draft contracts with the Venezuelan government, but you cannot actually execute or perform those contracts until you get separate OFAC approval.

Think of it like being permitted to draw up a deal and shake hands, but the contract only becomes real once a regulator gives the green light.

What’s covered: Any commercial negotiations with any part of the Venezuelan government — ministries, state agencies, state-controlled companies, or anyone acting on their behalf. “Contingent contracts” is defined broadly to include bids, proposals, MOUs, pro forma invoices, and similar preliminary agreements.

Key restrictions — you cannot:

• Negotiate contracts involving Venezuelan or PdVSA (state oil company) bonds or debt
• Use non-standard payment terms — no gold payments, no debt swaps, no Venezuelan digital currency (the “petro”)
• Enforce any legal judgments against blocked Venezuelan assets
• Involve any parties from Russia, Iran, North Korea, or Cuba
• Involve any entity owned or controlled by Chinese interests
• Deal with anyone on OFAC’s SDN (blacklist) list

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General License 57 — Financial Services to Certain Venezuelan Banks

The core idea: U.S. financial institutions and service providers can conduct normal financial transactions with or for four specific Venezuelan banks and ordinary Venezuelan government employees.

The four banks covered:

1. Banco Central de Venezuela (the central bank)
2. Banco de Venezuela
3. Banco Digital de los Trabajadores
4. Banco del Tesoro

Any entity majority-owned by these banks is also covered.

Also covered: Individual Venezuelan government employees whose assets are technically “blocked” purely because they work for the government — as long as they are not on the SDN blacklist.

What “financial services” means here is defined very broadly: account management, wire transfers, ACH payments, debit/credit cards, digital wallets, remittances, payroll processing, currency exchange, correspondent banking, securities, and more.

Key restrictions:

• This does not unblock any frozen assets
• It doesn’t override any other sanctions rules
• All normal Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering obligations still apply

Practical note for banks: A U.S. financial institution processing these transactions can rely on what the originating or receiving party tells them about compliance — as long as the bank has no reason to suspect something is wrong.

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How They Work Together

GL 56 opens a path for businesses to explore and structure deals with Venezuela, while GL 57 enables the banking infrastructure needed to eventually support those deals. Neither license removes the requirement for further OFAC authorization before any real money moves on a new contract.