The U.S. government has reduced the severity of the sanctions applied to Linea Aerea Conviasa, Venezuela’s state-owned airline. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a general license to Conviasa but has not removed all sanctions on the airline.
What is a general license?
An OFAC license allows Conviasa to perform certain financial operations within the U.S. A general license refers to one that has been granted directly by the OFAC, rather than one which has been specifically requested by the recipient.
In this case, it would allow Conviasa to trade parts with U.S. airlines, as well as buy and sell maintenance services with U.S. firms. It would also allow for U.S. citizens to invest in Conviasa.
The license does prohibit Conviasa from performing actions which aren’t considered “commercially reasonable”.
This includes paying trading partners using gold or cryptocurrency, both of which were proposed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as ways of easing the pressures caused by Venezuela’s substantial national debt.
Who uses Conviasa?
Conviasa has been operating as Venezuela’s flag carrying airline since its foundation in 2004.
It was banned from operating in the U.S. by a 2019 executive order, which prohibited all transactions between U.S. firms, and those owned by the Venezuelan state.
The airline is based at Simon Bolivar International Airport (CCS) in Caracas, Venezuela. It currently owns a fleet of 25 aircraft, including 15 Embraer E190 jets.
It is believed that nine of these planes are to currently in operation, including four of the Embraer E190 planes.
Along with its network of internal routes, Conviasa also operate regular services to Jose Marti International Airport (HAV) in Havana, Cuba, and to Cancun (CUN) and Mexico City (MEX) International Airports in Mexico.
The granting of a general license does not mean that there are any immediate plans to expand Conviasa’s operations to any U.S. airports.
Have you ever flown with Conviasa? Could this help ease tensions between Venezuela and the U.S.? Let us know in the comments.
