Venezuela embarks on $150 billion restructuring of sovereign, oil debt
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference after a signing of an agreement ceremony between Chevron Venezuela and the national government at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas on April 13, 2026. Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, praised on April 13 the progress made in the oil sector regarding foreign investment as part of the signing of agreements with the U.S. giant Chevron to increase crude oil production. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images)
Juan Barreto | Afp | Getty Images
The Venezuelan government announced Wednesday that it has begun a “comprehensive and orderly process” for restructuring its enormous sovereign and state oil company debt.
In a statement, Venezuela’s economics and finance ministry said the intention was to “put the economy at the service of the Venezuelan people and free the country from the burden of accumulated debt.”
“Venezuela demonstrated solvency throughout the years, fully complying with all its international obligations. This capacity and willingness to meet our financial commitments was impeded from 2017 onward as a result of financial sanctions,” the government said.
“For too long, the country has been deprived of normal access to financing, and its economy lost the capacity to invest in health, electricity, water, education, infrastructure, productive recovery, and the well-being of its population.”
The restructuring process aims to guarantee substantial debt relief, officials said, which will be used to benefit the country and its population.
“Venezuela will fulfill its commitments sustainably and will do so under the conditions that the Venezuelan people deserve, building a solid path to recover well-being, justice, and social equality,” the statement said.
In 2017, during his first presidential term, Donald Trump slapped financial sanctions on Venezuela in a bid to restrict the Maduro regime’s access to capital.
In January, an extraordinary U.S. military operation saw American troops capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to the U.S., where he was indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy and other charges alongside his wife Cilia Flores.
Both Maduro and Flores have denied any wrongdoing.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro attends a hearing in a narco-terrorism case accusing him of running a cartel of Venezuelan officials that flooded the U.S. with cocaine, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Court House in New York City, U.S., March 26, 2026 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Foreign sanctions have severely impacted Venezuela’s economy over the past decade, with the country defaulting on its debts and public sector liabilities ballooning.
According to independent financial think thank OMFIF, Venezuela’s defaulted debts total at least $150 billion, or over 200% of its gross domestic product. The country stopped making payments on its public debts in 2017 as it entered hyperinflation.
But under interim…
Read More: Venezuela embarks on $150 billion restructuring of sovereign, oil debt