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

Move could test Huawei and ZTE’s long-standing foothold as Washington extends its China reach from oil to another strategic sector

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.