Holland & Knight - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated five officials affiliated with the regime of Nicolas Maduro pursuant to Executive Order 13850 (E.O. 13850), including the current Venezuelan minister of petroleum and mining and president of state-owned petroleum company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA). OFAC has published amendments to general licenses and guidance regarding transactions related to dealings in certain securities and the Venezuela-related sanctions. These actions raise new issues regarding dealings with the government of Venezuela, including with respect to the authority of certain Venezuelan governmental officials.