OFAC Venezuela Sanctions Screening

Targeted sanctions on Venezuelan government officials, state-owned entities, and the country's digital currency, the Petro.

TL;DR

TL;DR: Venezuela sanctions target specific officials, state owned entities, and the Petro digital currency, rather than imposing a full country embargo.

What the program targets

The Venezuela program applies targeted sanctions rather than a comprehensive embargo. It focuses on Venezuelan government officials, state owned entities, and the Petro, the country's government backed digital currency. Because it is targeted, screening requires identifying the specific designated parties and assets, not simply rejecting every transaction involving the country. The Petro illustrates why asset screening matters: a wallet tied to a sanctioned digital currency is itself a screening signal, independent of any name.

Why targeted programs need precision

Targeted sanctions demand precise matching. A broad geographic filter would over block legitimate activity, while a weak name match would miss the designated officials and entities. The 50 Percent Rule adds ownership as a factor: entities 50 percent or more owned by a blocked person are also blocked, even without their own listing. Targeted programs reward precision, so the screen must distinguish a listed official from an unrelated Venezuelan citizen.

Screening for agent payments

For agents, the relevant check is whether a counterparty name or wallet appears on the SDN List. sanctionsai.dev screens 19,218 SDN names and 947 OFAC-listed wallets across 16 jurisdictions. A clean result returns ALLOW and a flagged result returns BLOCK, so an agent does not route funds to a designated Venezuelan official or a Petro linked wallet. Agents that handle crypto must therefore screen both the counterparty and the specific asset or address involved.